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Murals, murals, murals, April 2020
Tour de Murals and other sights: A Photographic Log
1 April 2020

We had almost zero rain prior to the lockdown. Now that we're under orders to stay at home, we've had several rainy days, which actually seems like reasonable timing.

Back to sunny weather today. I was itching to get out for a ride, but our lockdown has been extended and some additional bike paths and destinations have been closed down. Nevertheless, I needed to stretch my legs, so I set out to investigate the latest changes. To begin with, I wanted to see if the paved Brush Creek Trail—my main route for getting across town to routes running north, west, and south—had actually been closed to bikes as reported in the newspaper.


When I turned onto one end of the Brush Creek Trail, I expected it to be closed to bikes, but I couldn't find a sign. A couple of bikes emerged as I started down the trail, and I saw several other cyclists along the way. However, when I exited at the far end of the trail, I noticed this sign. Not sure what's up. Maybe no one placed a sign at the other end, or maybe someone tore down the sign, or maybe part of the path remains open. Anyway, on the way home I rode on the shoulder of the highway instead of taking the trail like usual.


The little park with the big fish at the terminus of the Greenway was closed, so I detoured around it and went through the parking garage of the downtown shopping mall—closed—like I did last week. This time I decided to ride up to the top of the parking garage.

From the second deck, here's a view toward Railroad Square.


I continued up to the top deck and took another photo toward Railroad Square.


With the mall closed and no cars on the top deck of the parking garage, I enjoyed riding around in the sunshine for awhile and checking out the views.


From the parking garage I pedaled to Railroad Square through a couple of blocks where I seldom ride.


Bike Monkey "produces, manages and supports cycling and running events" like Levi's Gran Fondo.


Not my first photo of this brightly painted wall by the Redwood Gospel Mission.


Another mural in Railroad Square.


Lots of brick walls in Railroad Square.


Cruising streets I seldom see.

From here I pedaled over to the Greenway, expecting so see the same "closed" signs that appeared last week. Surprisingly, I found no signs. I saw plenty of bikes on the path, so I decided to go for it. Unfortunately, the Greenway was a mess. Due to several rainy days and the public announcement that enforcement would be suspended, every underpass on the path was jammed with homeless folks and their gear.


Then I headed to the artsy SOFA ("South of A Street") district.


SOFA and Art Alley were all closed up. Apparently art is not an essential service.

I took a couple of random turns onto unfamiliar streets, and—bingo!—discovered the mother lode of murals. All of these came from a couple of battered, empty buildings at what must have been a used car lot.




















Back to the SOFA arts district. Having encountered so many murals, this one seems like a good place to end.




Summary

Date: 1 April 2020
Time: 12:30 - 2:30
Weather: 60 - 65° F, sunny
Route: Brush Creek Trail, downtown, Railroad Square, Greenway, SOFA
Distance: 17 miles
Bike: Ogre
Riders: Solo

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

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