I have a new path to work. It's much better than the old path. I stay on Myrtle Ave longer, although at some point it become Myrtle Walk. On this path I avoid the dramatic downhill of Park Blvd and the crippling uphill of Washington. Myrtle is very flat and very beautiful.
Stately oaks line the street for the first mile of my commute. Their branches form trellises above my head.
The second mile is lined by trees of a different sort.
The Interstate; some say it's the Cathedral of our Times. David Byrne and I disagree.
Whereas at one time I'd veer off of Myrtle onto Park/Dalrympe I now take it all the way down to the highway, pass through its cement columns, and come out the other side. A quick bypass through a neighborhood and I ride along the Interstate on Braddock Street.
Riding down Braddock, with the busy Interstate to my left and a quiet, unassuming neighborhood to my right, I can't help but feel a strong sense of juxtaposition.
Braddock, in addition to running parallel to the Interstate, runs parallel to Park and it has a more stable topography. It leads directly to Washington St. - minus the monstrous uphill - and from there into the neighborhood of the place of my employ.
One of the major complaints of the citizens of Baton Rouge, and especially its visitors, is the traffic. I quickly learned to navigate the back roads and avoid those clogged arteries that are the major thoroughfares of this city. I find myself doing the same thing on my bike. Washington - besides its ungodly uphill - was traffic heavy and one-laned. Braddock has two lanes and it is a one-way! Its sister street, McCalop, runs the opposite way along the Interstate and leads me to Terrace Ave. and back home.
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