Wednesday, September 24, 2008

cobblestone memories

Decided to try a new venue today for work that's a little closer to home and hopefully not nearly as cold as the UNH Library. I saddled up on my bike and headed out of my apartment in a different direction entirely, towards Dover itself. Despite some crossings that demand some extra vigilance, the trip in is short and delightful. About two miles into town, under huge beech trees beginning to turn, the asphalt sidewalk changes into antique brickwork. NOt the type of modern bricks with every gap filled smooth and sharply geometric, no, these were rounded red semi-rectangular cobbles with gaps in between each that bounced my bike tires enough to make me giggle. The pattern of the wiggling, too, changed with the brick's orientation. I wonder how old they are. The houses in the neighborhood are up to 200 years old and by the degree of wear on the bricks I wouldn't be surprised if they had seen a lot more years in Dover than I have. 

As I start wondering about what Dover used to look like, I turn the corner towards the library where the sidewalk remains bricks but resembles a waterslide where it has twisted and been lifted or sunk from roots, erosion and frost heaving. This creates a delightful undulation under my wheels that I might never have noticed if not on a bike. I'm really beginning to love using my bike , though arguably I picked the wrong season to start to like it. 

Another class has an assignment that requires adopting a behavior that I don't do regularly to try and make it permanent. I was originally planning to eliminate plastic bags completely, but I really think that may be too easy. Maybe I should challenge myself to using my bike, walking or taking the bus if the trip is 5ish miles or less. This seems really easy but i think if I were to draw out a 5 mile radius line around my apartment, it would include more than I think it does.

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