 |
| One of the old world gems on Tower Terrace. |
Confession: I have a love/hate relationship with riding in downtown Burlington. After the relatively easy and relaxing riding of the New North End and Old North End districts, I've struggled to complete the hilly and busy region of our city. It's a beautiful place, filled with historic mansions turned into college and university buildings, three-story Victorian homes, plus businesses which make up the city core. However, it is difficult to repeatedly pedal hills and navigate heavy traffic amidst narrow lanes lined with parked vehicles. Couple that with numerous dead end steep streets and the fact that I was all too familiar with these very roads because this region is my home. Understandably, the challenge was beginning to loose its luster.
 |
| A unique view of downtown Burlington's brick buildings and skyline. |
I had to rethink my strategy. After a couple of false starts, attempting to ride homeward after a busy work day and uphill while picking off one street at a time, it proved exhausting, turning an interesting challenge into a mindless, physical chore. Enter the new agenda. If I left early a couple mornings per week I could use living at higher elevation to my advantage. Working with momentum, as opposed to against it, I began to tick off streets like aptly named Cliff Street, then Maple Street, Howard Street, King Street, and horrendous Main Street. Thankfully, this proved to be an efficient plan and through perseverance I eventually finished riding around downtown.
 |
| After finishing the streets of a nearby neighborhood, I reward myself with a ride homeward along the waterfront trail. |
With the bulk of the city roadways behind me, it feels great to be in the home stretch!
Completed Streets to date:
Completed Streets to date:
- South Champlain Street
- South Willard Street
- Bank Street
- Orchard Street
- Hungerford Terrace
- University Place
- Bradley Street
- Henderson Terrace
- Robinson Parkway
- University Terrace
- Edgewood Lane
- Clymer Street
- Perrotta Place
- Hoover Street
- Redstone Terrace
- Ludwig Court
- Adams Court
- Chittenden Drive
- Deforest Street
- Overlake Park
- Summit Street
- Harrington Terrace
- Jackson Court
- Tower Terrace
- Deforest Heights
- Iranistan Road
- Cliff Street
- Locust Street
- Pine Street
- Cedar Lane
- Juniper Terrace
- Summit Ridge
- Howard Street
- Sears Lane
- Caroline Street
- South Winooski Avenue
- Spruce Street
- Spruce Court
- Kingsland Terrace
- Adams Street
- Pine Place
- Marble Avenue
- Oak Beach Drive
- Ledgemere Street
- Marion Street
- Southwind Drive
- Bayview Street
- Ambrose Place
- Dunder Road
- South Cove Road
- Eastman Way
- Red Rocks Road
- Elm Terrace
- Hayward Street
- Locust Terrace
- Golden Street
- Charlotte Street
- Catherine Street
I applaud your ingenuity and it makes perfect sense to have gravity on your side in a hilly location (particularly when narrow streets are involved!). Nice to see you continue your mission too. :)
ReplyDeleteI'm nearing the end! Thanks again for a great suggestion. It's kept me going through some difficult times this year.
DeleteImpressive! You live in a truly beautiful area. The pictures are stunning.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kendra. In the time I moved to the Northwest, bought a house, traveled, then uprooted ourselves to return home, Burlington had cleaned up it's waterfront and improved the downtown core. It is a nice place to raise a family.
ReplyDelete