Traffic was sparse, it being the holiday and all, with the exception of Market Street as Cirque du Soleil's tent was right in the parking lot of the pedestrian overpass to the park. After a joke with a parking attendant about a bike discount, I crossed over I-91.
The park trail was surprisingly dry, although I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised, given that the last rain was a week ago and the soil there is very fine and silty. Ten minutes into the trail, I took a tumble when I failed to identify a thick pit of sand. Too much weight on the front wheel plus a turn while pedaling caused the front wheel to slip and over-rotate, dumping me into the sand in the process. Since it was sand, I didn't suffer any damage, but gained a healthy respect for the conditions. The rest of the ride was pretty tame, with the only obstacle being a friendly pit bull.
I wasn't quite ready to head home after the trail, so I tooled around the park a bit and then headed up to Adriaen's Landing. After a short detour to the East Hartford side, I decided to take advantage of the low traffic and did some exploring downtown, checking out the new (but incomplete) walkway around the Science Center that will eventually lead up to the Convention Center as well. I usually dip over to the Hartford Club pedestrian ramp to access the streets, but that was closed off for construction. I rode over to the Front Street retail development across from the Convention Center, and then through Bushnell Park. I heard the tinny echoes of a bullhorn up by the Capitol Building and, sure enough, a bike cop confirmed my suspicions - a Tea Party Rally. I was pleased to see he was as annoyed as I was, and thankfully their turnout wasn't anything to write home about.
The ride around downtown also afforded me the opportunity to run some errands. I could really get used to the whole bike lifestyle, I tells ya.
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