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Joe Rodota Trail, January 2019
Water, Death, Sheep, Cloud: A Photographic Log
12 January 2019, 28 miles

Plenty of rain around here so far this month, which is exactly what is supposed to happen in January. Last time I checked, we were up to 80 or 90 percent of average for the rainy season.

That limits my opportunities for pedaling and means I need to hop on two wheels whenever there's a break in the weather. Like today. With new tires on the Ogre—gotta do something on rainy days—I pedaled across town, then rode to Sebastopol and back via the Joe Rodota Trail and the Greenway. Along the way I snapped a few photos.


At Flat Rock, where Brush Creek flows into Santa Rosa Creek, the water is high and fast compared to the usual trickle.


At the eastern terminus of the Greenway, by the Big Fish, here's swollen Santa Rosa Creek.

On the way back, every few feet along the creek I could see random pieces of clothing, bedding, and other stuff wrapped around bushes and trees. The first big rains of the season always turn the creek into a flood zone and wash away those meager possessions from creekside encampments.


Not just clothes and bedding get washed away. A few days ago, near this spot, a body was discovered in the water.

Someone had been sleeping by the creek under the highway overpass when he was washed away and drowned in the rising torrent.


From the Greenway, I turned onto the Joe Rodota Trail. Maybe not a great place to park.

The Joe Rodota Trail runs more or less parallel to the Greenway, but goes through less inviting neighborhoods. Today it was lined with wet people trying to get dry and warm.


Along the Joe Rodota Trail.


Along the Joe Rodota Trail.


An elderly guy on a battered old bike saw me with camera and suggested I might want to get photos of the nearby "painted building."

Less than a block off the bike path, it was a good tip!


The painted building.


The painted building.


I never discovered what the heck this building was for—no signs anywhere—but the whole thing was brilliantly painted.


A little farther down the trail, where it crosses Stony Point Road, I had to get a photo of the ghost bike.

Sidney Falbo was hit and killed here by a truck at the end of October while she was bicycling to classes at our community college. When I went by here in November, there was no memorial. Now someone has erected a ghost bike.


Another view of the ghost bike and memorial.

No witnesses or video ever discovered, so no charges against the truck driver who says the college girl must have tried to cross in front of him. R-i-i-i-i-ght.


Farther west, the Joe Rodota Trail briefly follows a quiet street at the edge of Santa Rosa, transitioning into pastures and hay fields.

Along that street, about two dozen sheep managed to escape from their field. This group from the wandering flock started to chow down on somebody's front lawn.


While I was snapping photos, two women on bicycles (one of them dismounted) tried to herd some of the escapees out of the street. Good luck with that!


Some of the sheep found more good grass along the street as another bicyclist rolled past.

Eventually the owner showed up, and we all helped shoo the sheep up the road and back to their own green field.


Farther west, I spotted a suitable fence post by the trail, propped my iPhone on top of it, fired up the camera timer, and photographed myself coming and going.


Color me artsy and pretentious.


Saw this along the trail. Looks like someone put out a jacket, umbrella, food, and drink for whoever needed it.


Whatever gets you through the night.


Farther west, the trail crosses the Laguna, which is dry in the summer but brimming after days of rain.


End of the Joe Rodota Trail in Sebastopol.


Turning around and starting back toward Santa Rosa on the Rodota Trail, but at Wright Road I turned north and picked up the eastbound Greenway,


Clouds rolling in, which enabled me to meet the requirements of the Cycle365 Challenge of the Month for January.






Summary

Date: 12 January 2019
Time: 11:30 - 2:30
Weather: 55 - 60° F, with increasing wind and cloud
Route: Joe Rodota Trail to Sebastopol, back partly via Rodota and partly via Greenway
Distance: 28 miles
Bike: Ogre
Riders: Solo




Comments? Questions? Suggestions? I'd like to hear from you.

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