After finishing up my part time job somewhere around 4:30, I decided that since there were a few hours of daylight left, I should go for a bike ride. And so:
Ah, the Augusta Canal’s Headgates. A constant in my life. No matter if the water is high or low, at least I always know the Headgates will be there regulating it.
Which is good, because in the nine months (!) since I’ve been to this side of the Canal trail, they’ve gone and changed everything else.
What you don’t see amidst all these tourists are: piles of dirt, taped off pits, and a construction crane. That’s right–their work here is done. People can mill about freely. On my way back from my ride I saw a guy standing out on the Canal side of the Headgates, fishing.
Not long into my ride I discovered two more new things. One of them had been rumored (though I don’t remember where I heard about the possibility), and the other was a complete surprise.
Here’s the former:
A new bridge! It’s still under construction. According to the plaque, it was built in May of this year. Scary to think that I hadn’t been here since January…
Here’s the latter new thing, situated directly across from the bridge.
Look sir, droids! Err, stairs! Down to a nice landing for fishing. I didn’t go all the way down there (didn’t want to leave the Maou up top unattended), but I did snap a few more shots. They start here.
Here’s my bike next to a bulldozer. Hardcore.
The rest of the trail was essentially the same as always. It was lovely and autumnal, and there were blossoms and leaves beginning to turn. I rode as far as I thought I could ride back, snapping pictures.
Upon returning to the Headgates I waited around trying to catch pictures of birds. I was marginally successful. But then the sun started setting and the trees across the river were bathed in this beautiful orange glow. So I took a bunch of pictures of that, swiveling at the waist to try and get a panorama, and when I got home I pieced some of them together.
The biggest flaw with these is the fact that the water is constantly moving and changing, so it doesn’t really match. But it was a fun experiment!
It was so good to get back out on the Canal again. I’ve missed it so much. And the weather was perfect.
It had been quite some time since I’d ridden my bike, so I only managed about 30 minutes, not including stopping every few seconds for photos. And my butt is still sore!
But it feels great. I’m glad I went :)