The Peace Bridge

I was just going through some of the old blogs and I came across this one from September 12, 2012. It seems that I wrote it but never published it and it has languished under "DRAFT" all of this time without so much as a whimper. Well, not being one to look a gift horse in the face, or turn down anything free, here it is. I just feel sorry for those 2 or 3 people that had nothing to read on September 12th...

I went for a ride down by the river today. I had forgotten just how relaxing it can be gliding over the pavement past young lovers, joggers, old folks out for a walk, moms pushing baby carriages, other cyclists, the sleeping homeless, the drunk or stoned, the used needle drop off and the groups of drunks staring into space.

The ride is pretty flat, so it really isn’t too much of a challenge and you can take the time to watch the world go by. There are some places that are under construction, but for the most part the river pathway is very scenic. I have ridden that way many times before, but for my buddy Bill, it was his first time and he enjoyed the ride. Maybe he just likes having a sore ass, but I refuse to go there.

 

One of the things I wanted to do was to ride over the new…ish Peace Bridge. It was designed by Santiago Calatrava a Spanish architect and it was built in Spain. Part of the reason I wanted to ride the bridge is because it cost $25,000,000 and during the construction and all through the two years of delays I was against the bridge. Don’t get me wrong, it is a beautiful bridge and was a treat to ride across. I just wonder why the city couldn’t find a Canadian architect to design the bridge and a Canadian company to manufacture it. I don’t have anything against the Spanish per se, but I think a Canadian company wouldn’t have screwed up the welds and there would be a good chance the bridge would have been completed on time. I base this o virtually no knowledge of construction and design, but I am getting old and I am allowed to complain about things I have no real information about.

Twenty years from now, people aren’t going to talk about how much the bridge cost or who designed and built the damned thing, all they will be concerned about is just how lovely it is. Well, unless it has broken in half with a thousand people on it and dropped into the river. No, all people will talk about is just how beautiful it is and wonder why there are so many pigeons and gulls crapping on the bridge.

Well, tomorrow is another day and there are plans afoot to cycle some more. I think we will ride south and see what there is down in that direction I can bitch about.