The (Long) Road to Green Expo 2010
So even though I nuked ha1ku.tumblr.com v1.0 a few months back, today I felt like blogging more than 140 characters. As far as I can tell, there isn’t any way to make this site private but what the hell. I can always nuke it again later, if I feel I’m getting too much of the wrong attention.
Anyway, I had been planning to attend Green Expo here in Athens all week. As it turns out, the weather was wet and, honestly, I didn’t feel like getting out in it. I thought I would be rarin’ to go first thing in the morning, to include breakfast out and then walking through the doors of the Classic Center at 10am when they open.
Not.
Something about rainy weather combined with a tough week at the office just has a way of making me feel drowsy. I discovered that the expo was only until 3pm today, so I forced myself to get dressed. Given I was late, I had to forgo the breakfast plans and made do with a hastily-prepared meal of fruit and wasabi crackers (breakfast of champions).
By noon I was out the door and into the nasty weather. I wanted to to try a different route, too, deciding to travel along Baxter Street and cutting through some neighborhood roads until I could get to the intersection at Hancock and Broad.
Problem #1: Hancock Avenue just south of the aforementioned intersection is steep, just as you pass the school. I ended up walking up this hill. And, the sensor at the intersection will not detect a bicycle. I waited and waited, positioning my ride different ways but no can do. I l gave up and ended up taking the route that I, so far, never had the courage to take…
Problem #2: Broad Street sucks. Firstly, it’s fucking steep. Fuuuuucking steep. Going down is great but, boy, do you pucker out on the uphill. I tried one hill, ran out of steam, and hoofed it up about 1/2 of the way up. By the second hill, I was already exhausted. After getting yelled at by three idiot college students and losing my favorite water bottle, I was fully frustrated and out of breath. I hung a right into the Holiday Inn, re-gathered my nerve, and hoofed it up Broad Street again until I was able to cross the street to Pulaski. Kept walking until I got to Hancock again and pedaled the rest of the way to the Classic Center.
If you’re going to do Broad Street, I recommend starting at Milledge Avenue and working your way east of there. I’ve seen people go west of this intersection, but everyone that I’ve observed takes the sidewalks (which is illegal). And, I bet they were pretty miserable doing those hills.
One o’clock, I’m locking up the bike at a rather nice, new bike rack. I believe there was an unveiling by the local bicycling advocates not too long ago, with quite a bit of fan fare. I intended to go, but as usual work prevailed. Anyway, I arrived just in time for a seminar on composting. I had heard of this practice many times, but never fully understood what it entailed. It was truly fascinating. The presenter even brought one of her composting tumblers, and too my surprise it wasn’t stinky at all!
I spent the next hour strolling through the exhibit hall. Quite a few things there: home improvement companies, three “green” vehicles on display, some booths manned by various city organizations about recycling, water quality, and some other things that I can’t recall at the moment. Coca Cola was there, and they had kid-friendly activities planned too, including a guitarist to entertain them.
To my surprise, Athens Transit had a bus in the exhibit hall. An interesting statistic: The average household spends around two-thirds of its budget on housing and transportation. That’s a lot of money on mortgage and supporting your automobile. Anyway, this particular bus on display had the bicycle rack in front. A driver was present to demonstrate how it works. Really easy! Having seen how it operates, I feel confident knowing that should I ever need to take the bus home, I’ll know exactly how to transport my bike.
One vendor fortunately was selling water bottles. They had Klean Kanteens on display, and I had been planning to buy one for some time. The timing was perfect, given my unfortunate mishap during my ride today, so I jumped at a chance to pick up a snazzy insulated bottle. It had a loop cap, which can be used to attach a carabiner in order to secure it to your gear. It worked out brilliantly for my bottle cage.
The Green Expo was a lot fun, but duty beckoned and I made my way to the office a few blocks away.
