" Cannot have art without meat."--Martin Heidegger
It would be nice to go back in time and attended University to retake the same courses without the ritual getting blackout drunk or calcifying my brain with drugs every weekend or third day. Of course, keep the books. I find myself longing for the philosophy books I highlighted during those years. I could explain what this German thinker meant by that paraphrased statement but I'll let you, gentle reader, research that on your own. Suffice to say, every time I make an effort to absorb art this thought enters my mind.
SUDAFED BLUES
Been fighting a cold, not covid, I can smell, coffee test was at 5 am this morning, and that kept me inside yesterday. But today I felt better and made a special ride to obtain a photograph for Facebook's Bicycle Ride & Seek monthly challenge. A photo of my bicycle with an egg in the background was the target. I used the Google to find "egg Des Moines Iowa" and the South Des Moines Sculpture Park appeared in the results. BINGO!! I always wanted to visit this place.
Located off of SW 9th Street and McKinley, it would require a non-direct route to get there via bicycle. So, I consulted Google Maps. Yes, I have surrendered my privacy to the Google. Google gave me a pin for being a "Local Guide." Reliance on Maps for bicycle and car travel is nothing I am ashamed of. Two routes. The "blue," recommended taking the established bike route within a half mile of the target. Hop on the trail at Mullet's, all the way to the first trail intersection past Confluence Brewery and then turn left at Cassady Drive and stay on this hill as it turns into SW 14th and then left again at McKinley, cross SW 9th and BOOM THERE IT IS on the right. The alternative was to take SE 8th with lots of residential areas and turns ect. Missing option was to take the trail to MacRae Park, climb that bastard of a hill, to SW 12th and ride past Lincoln HS football field and cut over to SW 14th at Elder Lane which I have done before. We took the recommended route. My only issue with this route is that it is not marked properly for an idiot like me. There needs to be a painted arrow on the pavement at the intersection of Cassady Drive. There is a blue bike route sign once the turn is committed, however, all the signage up to this point is in green and blue signs are not on my radar.
BIKES
It is now early March. Normally, I ride my "lesser" bikes early in the year to spare the "nicer" bikes for later when winter is over and the street cleaners have removed the sand and grit for the roads. But I am sick of riding my single speed commuter. My gravel bike is fitted with studded tires and thus is not necessary. I should have taken my 94 Trek carbon but I wanted to ride a "nicer" bike. Since there will be some significant hills I thought about a bike with a triple but I vetoed that because its tires needed pumping and it is on the top rack and its BB is noisy. I went with my "endurance" bike, a "nicer" bike. Wider tires and ISO Speed shock absorbers for the crap roads we'd be on. The rain was not going to begin until noon.
Decision reached, change clothes and check tires. Yep, they were a bit low. The best way to warm up for a cold weather ride is to dress in your cold weather kit, accidently let all the air out of one tire while attempting to fill it and pump the bastard up to 100 psi. Extra warmth if your spouse/significant partner asks for you to check their tires. Mary takes her Liv and the tires were fine as I pumped them earlier and she has been riding that bike as of late. My Domane, it would open its 2023 account in a few moments.
WET RIDE
The spots on the deck told the tale of the ride. Several mistakes were made. Nice bike. Did not wear a rain jacket. No ZipLoc baggie for the phone. Did I lean the bike on the house and run inside to grab these items? No. It was a sprinkle, the type that did not show up on the radar I check prior to leaving. Annoyance, not a ride cancelling event.
Mary saw the blue sign first as I asked if this is where the turn is to Cassady Dr. Time to climb. My cold has turned me into a snot factory and my fear was that I would get near the top and have one of my infamous coughing/puking seizures, exacerbated by my failure to bring a water bottle. But instead of coughing we encountered deer. Spotted to our right up ahead four deer crossed the street at speed in front of us. No collisions, no coughing seizures, we eventually summited the hill and crossed the busy roads. SW 14, although marked as a bike route, felt a bit narrow. A few speed humps are painted with sharrow symbols. I enjoyed riding over them and one can get a bit of acceleration off the back side from them. The left on McKinley is marked by a traffic light.
OFF ROUTE
We are a half mile from the park. The road is narrow and traffic has increased somewhat. The shoulder is a rocky mess with cars parked close to the street. The sidewalk on the northside is narrow and does not look smooth or safe. Now we cross SW 9th and the sculpture park is on the right behind the bar. The park is on a narrow stretch of land in a hilly residential area. None of the works have titles or credits to the artists on them. A rudimentary internet search resulted in a few Trip Advisor reviews and a Facebook page. Here are the photos I took of all the "open" exhibits. A few are covered and were not photographed.
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| UNI colors! |
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| My favorite. I should have walked around to the other side to avoid the house. |
THE RIDE HOME
We took the same way back. I climbed McKinley without getting my right shoe clicked in. Annoying but I needed speed since there was traffic. Cars gave us room. Instead of going immediately home we diverted to a cinnamon roll café in the East Village. Mary ordered a raspberry Danish and a hot chocolate and I an "old school" cinnamon roll and a coffee. Unfortunately, the cashier did not hear me or understand me and I received coffee only. A glance at the receipt showed that only 3 items were ordered. I tried to go back and order, but new customers were walking in every time. Oh well, I just saved 2000 calories. I was not happy.
Then we stopped at the store for oatmilk. Recent calcium scoring suggests that I give up half and half for my daily coffee (like a cinnamon roll is any better). Two potential bridge beers were also purchased since I need a photo. But when we got back to our bikes, the rain had intensified then stopped. Looking at the clocks on the bikes it was noon, the time the internet said the rain would begin. Just go home. Fortunately, the rain was over but the streets were wet and we were cold. No bridge beers. A few hours later the sun came out. Should have waited...
