A "thump" in the road...

On one of our previous jaunts, we were on a regular, multi-use path and doing quite well. Then there was that bump...

As we went through an underpass, we hit a trench in the concrete path, obviously put there by the designers to help funnel rain water out of the path and onto the park grass. However, the trench is about two to three inches deep and only about six inches wide. Consider it like a reverse speed bump.

The first time I hit that, on my trike, I was probably going 12 miles an hour or so. It was quite a jolt. I twisted one of my ankles slightly, and I won't even mention my lower back (and other areas) that took a beating going over that man-made, elongated pothole. It was several days for the pain in my back (and insides) to go away. (Coming soon will be a note on my search for a proper cushion to put on my canvas seat.) On our second trip over that same area, I slowed WAY down (my wife, who was behind me, yelled out and asked why I was slowing down... then after the bump I thought I heard, from behind, "Oh ya...").

I am surprised that there isn't a sign or some colorful markings on the trail itself warning about this trough. I would think that even joggers could twist their ankles and the like if they were to hit that long hole wrong.

But maybe I am just being picky. There were many other spots on the trail where it was obvious that the cement slabs had buckled and the city engineers had conscientiously come out and ground the differences down so the bumps were gone. Maybe they just didn't think about this mini-ditch as a problem or mistake.

And besides, my daughter from Tucson was with us, and all along the way she kept saying, "This is WONDERFUL! -- compared to the condition of the roads and paths in Tucson." Well, we will see. We'll be down there sometime soon, riding those trails. I kinda hope, for my back's sake, she was exaggerating...