StreetCowboy

Yesterday I was out for want of inspiration up the Don Valley again, and I aimlessly followed other cyclists and found myself heading down-river on the other side. I came to a blocked bridge, and was about to turn back, but the guy next to me said “You can get through”; I was slightly circumspect about rampaging through a construction site - not A construction site, but THIS construction site, as I thought it might be preparatory works for our railway, and it would not help my career to suffer a mishap trespassing on one of our sites. But faith in the Contractor’s safety management, and I followed the other bloke through the gap in the fence. The ground was well-compacted, apart from some material stockpiles there were no obstructions, and no unprotected excavations. There was one “Caution - Drop and Water below” at the edge of the river, and we had to carry our bikes over some material blocking the path, but we were soon out through a similar gap in the fence at the far end. Maybe the path is not legally closed, but the contractor who has access would prefer people don’t use it… Anyway, it was pleasantly rideable, free of cars, no pedestrians and few cyclists

I took a ride out to look at a station and some level crossings - the station is in the middle of nowhere, near a park, but the nearby military airport is being developed with leisure and retail complexes. Actually, the second level crossing was not on my initial list of attractions, but the bells rang as I was taking photos. This is the first of two locos pulling 145 wagons, so I would guess about 3 km of train. SC

You were lucky to bump into a cricket fan

I took a ride down by the waterfront to look at a future station and while I was about it, I had a look for somewhere to meet my old boss tomorrow afternoon. 1. The waterfront was not hoaching with pubs 2. The shared-use path was quite busy, and I can see that in the summer it will be hoaching and unrideable for the boys on roadbikes. They must have callouses on their bell-fingers already. I raked up the Don Valley river path, which came out on to a quiet 4-lane stroad, and then back into town on a similar wide but quiet road. I’m guessing that during the week they are less pleasant to cycle on.

Back in the day, my daughter took up the double bass in the school band. As well as its transportation challenges, she complained it was boring. I said "It doesn't need to be" and the school called a social worker.

You can’t live your life based on exceptions. I remember similar were popular with sportsmen twenty or thirty years ago, and I believe a friend used similar to address snoring twenty years ago. I don’t know if it worked - we weren’t that close SC

That is useless without a YouTube link

It always seems to be someone else's problem.

I don't know - how stupid is it?

And it did a decade later

Great photos - Thanks for sharing! If you posted them in small batches, it would be easier for people to start a conversation about specific photos.

Salvador Dali, eat your heart out!

There are some thoughts - perhaps many - that are not helped by relevant images, and many of us would benefit if you allowed us to keep a slightly looser grip on the miseries and tragedies of the world. SC

Back in the day, we had red and green symbols, to show whether you drank McEwans or Heineken, but when Scottish Brewers were split between Heineken and Diageo, those became a thing of the past.

Back in the day, if Western Films are to be believed, we'd settle it by doffing our jackets and spilling into the street, like gentlemen. Online, that is not so easy, not since Online Pub closed. I never investigated why Online closed, and left shortly after, though coincidentally.