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The Incompleat
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This page covers five journal entries:
1. Monday, July 17, 2000 - 'Steel Row' and Boom Island
2. Tuesday, July 18, 2000 - same route as Monday
3. Wednesday, July 19, 2000 - no biking today (Casino day!)
4. Thursday, July 20, 2000 - same route as Monday
5. Friday, July 21, 2000 - biked to and from work only
6. Saturday, July 22, 2000 - work, relaxing ride afterward
Monday, July 17, 2000 - 'Steel Row' and Boom IslandBeginning mileage: 227.35 Ending mileage: 237.66 I moved to Northeast Minneapolis when I was about 20 years old, and, 20 years later, I know as little of the neighborhood (and indeed, as little of Minnesota) now as I did then. So these biking journeys I'm making, in my efforts to write The Streets of Minnepaul are in all ways journeys of discovery! Today, I decided to start out (as all of my journeys will start out) at the corner of Lowry Avenue and Central Avenue (also known as Highway 65), in Northeast Minneapolis. In my past bike rides around the neighborhood (as opposed to rides on bike trails), I have always remained on the EAST side of Central Avenue. Because I live on this side of Central Avenue, because when I used to work at the U of MN I biked to work through this side, and now that I work over near Rosedale I still bike to work through the east side. Since I intend to cover ALL of Northeast MPLS, I decided to start out my day today going in the other direction, and check out the WEST side of Central Avenue. As I straddled my bike on the sidewalk on the corner of Lowry and Central, I looked up at the sign for a relatively new business that had taken over the corner building perhaps six months to a year ago - replacing a 'five and dime' or consignment shop of some kind (which in its turn had replaced something I can't remember - ah if only I had started this project earlier!) Anyway, the sign read The Maler Barber School of Hairstyling, and in smaller letters, Since 1893. And I wondered to myself how many newcomers to the area who saw that sign would think that the Maler Barber School of Hairstyling I began my journey down Lowry Avenue. Like Central Avenue going North and South, Lowry Avenue going West and East is a 'main drag.' There was not too much traffic on the road when I set out however, at about 10:45 am on this Monday. Enough though to cause me to ride on the sidewalk - which I didn't feel guilty about because there were no pedestrians to be seen.
Lesson learned today - ALWAYS carry a camera! I continued on...making mental notes for writing the Streets entry for this section of Minneapolis. I decided I'd keep riding down Lowry until I discovered when Northeast Minneapolis ended, and what took it place. There was a bridge over the Mississippi River, just beyond Marshall NE, and I wonder if this is the demarcation line between Northeast Minneapolis and North Minneapolis, for the next street I came to was N. 2nd St. The distance from Lowry and Central to Lowry and N. 2nd St. is approximately 1.68 miles. I then decided to go left (south) on N. 2nd St, and see how far I could ride before coming to the end of Northeast Minneapolis in that direction. It was a pleasant ride down a broad street with practically no traffic, although it was running through an industrial neighborhood. As I rode I passed at least three businesses that had to do with steel (more about them in the Streets section. I was quite pleased wiht N. 2nd St, because it was a level road with no incline and I was getting closer and closer to downtown Minneapolis. (If you ride down Central Avenue towards downtown Minneapolis, there's a gradual incline, from _________________ to Broadway Avenue, that you have to ride up on your way back. As I rode down N. 2nd Street I decided that that incline could be avoided by using this street. Instead of going over the ____________ Bridge, which led into downtown, I turned around, and, seeing N. Plymouth Avenue going East and West[CHECK DIRECTIONS) decided to take it East [?], towards Central. Again, not much traffic on the road. I passed by a road leading [SOUTH?} which I didn't take, James I. Rice West River Parkway, which was a VERY narrow road for cars with no room for a bicycle on it at all! A sign called it a Grand Rounds Scenic Byway. I kept riding down N. Plymouth Avenue, and lo and behold I saw below a bridge, by the Mississippi River, a lighthouse! There was no bike path leading down to it, but there was a set of stairs, with a place on one side so bicyclists could wheel their bike down it while going down the steps. I rode around the lighthouse (a more accurate term would perhaps be a beacon, since there were certainly no living quarters there) and then down the path where the Padelford boats were moored. As I watched a group of six or seven German tourists bought tickets for the noon trip down the Mississippi. I walked back up the steps, got back on my bike, and rode on, to find just a few yards down the road that what I had been investigating was Boom Island, a place I'd heard of but never paid attention to before. It may have been an island at one point, but it certainly wasn't any more! In fact, I'd been close to this area before, I think, I think many years before I had attended a Shakespeare in the Park play close by - but I had certainly never noticed the lighthouse! Back on to N. Plymouth Avenue. At about 2:30 rode to work - 4.73 miles, and returned home from work at 7:00 pm, with an extra twist and turn to bring my total 'afternoon mileage' up to ten, so that I rode twenty miles for the day.
Tuesday, July 18, 2000 - 'Steel Row' and Boom IslandBeginning mileage: 237.35 Ending mileage: 248 Although it was only about 56 degrees early in the morning (before it started to rain) I got in 10 miles. I went over the same route as yesterday, taking notes for the Streets section. I've got to work on my note taking ability so I don't have to go over the same ground so many times!
Wednesday, July 19, 2000 - Casino dayBeginning mileage: N/A Ending mileage: N/A Wednesday is the day I take the bus to Mystic Lake - won a hundred, spent the rest of the time wandering around watching people lose money at black jack. The sillies!
Thursday, July 20, 2000 - Same as MondayBeginning mileage: N/A Ending mileage: N/A I was a bit careless taking mileage readings today, once more going back over the same ground, taking photographs which I will upload, hopefully next week, to the website proper.
Friday, July 21, 2000 - Biked to work and backBeginning mileage: N/A Ending mileage: N/A I don't usually work on Fridays, but did today. Biked to and from work, nothing else to report.
Saturday, July 22, 2000 - Biked to work and backBeginning mileage: N/A Ending mileage: N/A Aren't these exciting journal entries? Never fear, more of interest hopefully next week. Today, I work from 10am - 4 pm, then hope to get in a 20 mile bike ride if the weather stays kind.
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