Sunday, February 6, 2011

Lazy Afternoon Stroll

Needing to avoid early on-set of cabin fever, Alex and I grabbed the dog and headed down to Shoaff Park in Fort Wayne. The park has a two-mile paved road which loops around the park. Most of the road is closed to cars, and the Park Dept. keeps the entire road pretty-well plowed through the winter.

Here's an overlook on the St. Joe River. Just around the bend to the left is the former location of the dam which diverted much of the St. Joe's flow into the feeder canal which fed the Wabash and Erie Canal. And on the opposite bank is the former location of Robison Park, a popular amusement park in the early 1900's.


This is my favorite part of the park. A long, gradual slope down to the river. On the left is a deep, wooded ravine.

A very happy dog. There's a critter under that snow somewhere!

The high temp today is 30F, so the sand and salt the road crews have been spreading is melting much of the ice off the roads. More biking in the very near future!

Happy riding!

7 comments:

Steve A said...

Does that salt attack bike frames as aggressively as it rusts out untreated car bodies?

Big Oak said...

Yes, it'll make paint scratches on steel frames oxidize quickly. But I don't know how the badly the chrome moly steel frames are damaged. For that reason, I've just been riding my aluminum-framed Tricross. The non-stainless steel hardware becomes visible quickly - mainly the nuts, and some of the allan cap bolts.

It really makes chromed hub skewers rust quickly!

Anonymous said...

We sure have been 'blessed' with the snow this winter. I find myself going from window to window, sighing. My wife asks me if I am short of breath! Here's to hoping we can get back on the road soon. Regards

John Romeo Alpha said...

Do they still use actual salt on your roads, or have they switched away from old NaCl in recent years?

Big Oak said...

JRA - no, they still use good, old rock salt on all of the county roads. It's been cold enough that the county crews have been using sand, mostly, but even with sand, salt is mixed in to keep the big piles from freezing too tight.

The state highway dept uses CaCl on the larger highways and on the interstate.

rlove2bike said...

That looks a nice area to explore and I would bet less populated this time of year.

Big Oak said...

rlove2bike - yes, when I was a kid we used to ride our bikes out to this park and spend the day exploring. I know the area well.