Biking Along the River

I realize that my blog has been rather mundane lately, and I apologize for this. Today's post is rather on the unexceptional side as well, but at least I have pictures!

I bike to work every day, which I have always enjoyed doing, but is particularly nice in Whanganui, since I get to bike by the river for a little less than half the trip. It is 6.5km (4m), which is about a 25 minute bike ride, if I take a fairly quick pace but don't kill myself over it. 

After biking through a bit of Whanganui East, I get to this train/bike bridge, which I find quite charming. Unfortunately, it is a bit narrow when I have to pass someone, but everyone is polite about it, so it works out.

This is the view from the bridge, looking down the river towards the city centre. As I have mentioned, people make fun of the Whanganui River because it is very full of silt and therefore quite brown. I find, however, that on a sunny day, it is still sparkly and reflects the blue sky in a very pretty way.

This is looking back towards Whanganui East. I like the old-fashioned design of the bridge - it reminds me of the old bridges in Kansas.

Once over the bridge, I bike down a path that runs next to the river, but is quite a ways above it, giving beautiful views. You see what I mean about the river being beautiful. No reason to fuss about it being full of silt!

After I turn off the river path, I go across most of the town to Noah's Ark, which is on the other side of the city centre. I find that it is a lovely bike ride, with only one decent-sized hill, and adequate bike lanes/paths on almost every road. Plus, unlike Kansas or Ottawa, it is very unusual for the weather to be bad enough that I can't bike. I have been caught in the rain a few times, but never more than drizzle, and I don't really mind that. I feel very fortunate to be able to enjoy an environmentally friendly way to get to and from work.

Also, the more I bike, the more I notice how many Kiwis are biking or walking. It seems that a great deal of parents walk their children to school, and many older children walk or bike with their friends. I am glad to see people taking walking and biking seriously as modes of transportation.