Trip to video store = so much more

Rode my mtn bike over to Cinema Revolution tonight - left my place at 7:45 needing to get "Amelie" and "Pi" back by 8 pm so pretty much hauled ass over there. The favorite part about riding in uptown is heading north on Hennepin - the traffic is always backed up for several blocks before Franklin, but on a bike you can just fly past all the stuck traffic and be on your merry way. I love it. Not only that, but biking is also an advantage since Cinema Revolution's parking situation is kind of screwed up - if you park in their lot, there's no way to get onto southbound Lyndale. The only option is to head north on Lyndale, which brings you into the oft-congested Walker/Guthrie/Loring Park intersection area. But on a bike, you're free to break whatever rules necessary to get headed south without going out of your way. (I usually follow the rules of the road best as I can - I usually don't run red lights, or blow stop signs, but I'll ride the sidewalk, and ride semi-aggresively in traffic if necessary.)

Anyway, this was my thought process when I took off on my bike (along with the thought that the weather has been relatively mild, so why not ride?) After dropping the movies off, I decided to explore a little in the hilly Groveland area between 94 and Loring Park. I've only been up in there a few times, always in a car, so I toodled around in that area for a bit (I seem to remember things much better on a bike than when driving in a car anyway - I think on a bike I'm more mentally engaged with the environment than when I'm cocooned in a rolling container). Then thought I'd ride into downtown, just for the fun of it. Then, riding through St Anthony Main seemed like a great idea, and since I'd gone that far, why not ride into Dinkytown and see what those crazy college kids are up to. From there, it's just a short jaunt through Cedar Riverside to catch Franklin, and from there a straight shot down Franklin to Hennepin and home.

This, my friends, is how a quick trip to the video store can turn into so much more.

(Note to Brian - I finally managed to find the strange grass rooftoop over by St Anthony Main again tonight, so we won't get lost next time we try to find it!)