Most of my commuter routes start on the bicycle path which is a converted railway track. And it is a fine path, but there is one stretch where roots of the trees next to the path have started to push up the asphalt. Obviously, this was getting worse and worse through time. It is unpleasant! The lumps are pronounced and quite sharp. It really can't be good for your bike to bike over them every day. But what choice do I have?
Some months ago, someone had spray painted them yellow. I was hoping that meant the council was going to take action on them. Maybe just grind them down? So that the tarmac would be level again? But it might just have been a protest action by a disgruntled civilian. Nothing happened.
Even later, warning signs appeared. At least I didn't think that was an action of a disgruntled civilian. They don't tend to have traffic signs lying around. But I didn't need to be warned about these bumps. I just wanted them to not be there!
One morning I biked in, and just after the bumpy stretch there was a big van parked in the middle of the bicycle path. I didn't find that particularly polite, but I just got past in the verge and didn't think more about it. But then I biked back in the evening. And there were three pristine new patches of asphalt where the bumps had been! Now I knew what that van had been doing there. It must have been associated with the repair work.
I was so chuffed to bike over the heavenly smooth surfaces! And it made me really appreciate tax. This must have been the council, so my council tax must have made a tiny contribution to it. And this is why we pay that money! I will now bike over these repairs almost every working day, and every time I will have the feeling my council tax was well spent. And I won't feel like I am destroying my bike. Hurray!
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