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A Picture Essay
Sep. 13th, 2009 01:32 pmMy Trip To Work Today, by Jenny Rowland
This is my usual route to work!
"A" is the approximate location of work, and "B" is the approximate location of my apartment. B's actual location is the middle of a major intersection, and obviously I don't live there, but that's my major cross-streets.
Today I had to go to the office to do something -- something that wouldn't take but ten minutes, but I needed to actually physically go there to do it. I hopped in my car for the twenty-minute ride over there (30 with workday traffic, but today be Sunday). I bid mecha farewell, told him I'd see him again in about an hour. I had no expectation that things might go terribly, terribly wrong.
Do you see those red dots along the marked route?
The single dot is the intersection that was basically shut down for the Ironman Wisconsin triathalon.
The double dot is where traffic was backed up to.
The intersection between the dots? Well, that's the way I needed to turn. Only it was completely shut down. One half coned off for bikes, the other half blocked off by parked cars. Was it supposed to be blocked off to cars? I'm not sure. Sure as hell weren't any signs saying so, today, yesterday, or all last week.
Do you want to know how long I spent between those dots?
Forty minutes.
Were there signs saying "delays ahead, seek alternate route"? No there were not. Not last night when we happened to be out that way, and not today either as I sat with my car in park for five to ten minutes at a time because traffic was not moving an inch. Most of the movement we did get was from cars -- three in every five, I'd say -- giving up on waiting and doing illegal K-turns to get back to civilization and away from the madness. I actually would've done that myself, except the asshole behind me kept closing up all the distance between us every time I shifted into reverse. So I sat there, waiting to be allowed to go through the intersection where bikes now had the right of way, for forty minutes. When I got close enough to the intersection, I actually got to see the cops directing traffic, and letting through about three cars going east for each one going west. Traffic was only backed up about ten cars on the other side, while on our side it was only illegal turns keeping the blockage from going all the way back to the major thoroughfare of the M. Why the disparity? I do not know.
Here is the route I actually took to get to work today!
I bet you were wondering why the last screenshot had all the empty space to the left, eh? That would be why. I could've tried one of those county roads going north-south between 18 and the PD (the long east-west road marked in the screenshots), but I figured I wanted to make as big a circle as possible around the race madness. All the way to the terminus of the PD and then onto 18 seemed safe enough. So I got to work safely, did my ten minutes of stuff, and then left.
But aha! I thought, I'm sure as hell not trying the PD back! I'll take Verona Road. It's a pretty major street, and while I guess I can see them shutting down a chunk of the PD, I can't see them shutting down the PD and Verona Road, all with no signs or posted notice of any kind. Verona Road curves back up to hit the PD, and from there it's my usual simple route. So I headed that-a-way.
Here is my approximate route home!
The green dot is where Verona Road was closed! For construction, I think. I didn't see any of those accursed bicyclists, anyway. So I turned south, figuring if I had to use small roads, I wanted to go away from the madness. Make as big a circle around it. Escape, if at all possible.
The red dot near Verona is where another intersection was backed up waiting for bicyclists! At least this one had a sign saying EXPECT LONG DELAYS. Sure, it was placed after you had passed all possible alternate routes, but at least there was a sign here, unlike the PD.
The blue dots are intersections I would've gone north at, except they were backed up waiting for a break in the flow of bicyclists!
It isn't marked, but at some point during this nightmare journey I actually wound up driving ON THE RACE ROUTE! The unlabeled race route! I went about a mile having to drive on the left side of the road and praying that I hadn't died without noticing, descended into hell, and thus embarked upon an eternity of being unable to escape this fucking race!
The red dot at the far right was another intersection backed up waiting for bicyclists to go through! It was, however, my last chance to get home without perhaps detouring all the way to Oregon! (The town, not the state.) Thankfully there were no bicyclists once I made that last turn north or else I probably would have snapped.
Total time to make two twenty-minute trips and a ten-minute pitstop? About two and a half hours.
Signs seen marking the race route? Two, both small, in Verona proper.
Responsibility for letting it be known whether public roads that are accessible today will not be blocked off for a private entertainment function tomorrow?
Well, I guess that belongs to everyone who might be driving anywhere south and west of Madison. Sure, we could expect, you know, signs to be posted, but I guess it's much more reasonable to A) expect everyone -- Madison residents and those just passing through alike -- to keep abreast of biking events in Madison; B) expect those same everyones to check the Ironman website -- regularly, since as it says on that site, "Courses are subject to change"; and C) oh wait no that is retarded it's not my job to visit the website of an event I'm not even interested in just to find out whether I will be allowed to drive on a public street to get to WORK.
So in conclusion: Ironman, I hate you. Please at least put up a sign by the road you're shutting down, preferably before I've passed the last free intersection and am now doomed to sit and wait for your fun little racey-wacey that's okay I didn't have work to do or anything and boy howdy sucks for the people who live on that road you shut down who might've needed to call 911 for ambulances or something but that's okay 'cause they're not bicyclists so they can just die I guess. Perhaps you could even put up the sign the night before! You don't have to, though, it's always nice to keep us big stupid driver types on our toes.
In conclusion of my conclusion: Ironman, I HATE YOU.
This is my usual route to work!
"A" is the approximate location of work, and "B" is the approximate location of my apartment. B's actual location is the middle of a major intersection, and obviously I don't live there, but that's my major cross-streets.
Today I had to go to the office to do something -- something that wouldn't take but ten minutes, but I needed to actually physically go there to do it. I hopped in my car for the twenty-minute ride over there (30 with workday traffic, but today be Sunday). I bid mecha farewell, told him I'd see him again in about an hour. I had no expectation that things might go terribly, terribly wrong.
Do you see those red dots along the marked route?
The single dot is the intersection that was basically shut down for the Ironman Wisconsin triathalon.
The double dot is where traffic was backed up to.
The intersection between the dots? Well, that's the way I needed to turn. Only it was completely shut down. One half coned off for bikes, the other half blocked off by parked cars. Was it supposed to be blocked off to cars? I'm not sure. Sure as hell weren't any signs saying so, today, yesterday, or all last week.
Do you want to know how long I spent between those dots?
Forty minutes.
Were there signs saying "delays ahead, seek alternate route"? No there were not. Not last night when we happened to be out that way, and not today either as I sat with my car in park for five to ten minutes at a time because traffic was not moving an inch. Most of the movement we did get was from cars -- three in every five, I'd say -- giving up on waiting and doing illegal K-turns to get back to civilization and away from the madness. I actually would've done that myself, except the asshole behind me kept closing up all the distance between us every time I shifted into reverse. So I sat there, waiting to be allowed to go through the intersection where bikes now had the right of way, for forty minutes. When I got close enough to the intersection, I actually got to see the cops directing traffic, and letting through about three cars going east for each one going west. Traffic was only backed up about ten cars on the other side, while on our side it was only illegal turns keeping the blockage from going all the way back to the major thoroughfare of the M. Why the disparity? I do not know.
Here is the route I actually took to get to work today!
I bet you were wondering why the last screenshot had all the empty space to the left, eh? That would be why. I could've tried one of those county roads going north-south between 18 and the PD (the long east-west road marked in the screenshots), but I figured I wanted to make as big a circle as possible around the race madness. All the way to the terminus of the PD and then onto 18 seemed safe enough. So I got to work safely, did my ten minutes of stuff, and then left.
But aha! I thought, I'm sure as hell not trying the PD back! I'll take Verona Road. It's a pretty major street, and while I guess I can see them shutting down a chunk of the PD, I can't see them shutting down the PD and Verona Road, all with no signs or posted notice of any kind. Verona Road curves back up to hit the PD, and from there it's my usual simple route. So I headed that-a-way.
Here is my approximate route home!
The green dot is where Verona Road was closed! For construction, I think. I didn't see any of those accursed bicyclists, anyway. So I turned south, figuring if I had to use small roads, I wanted to go away from the madness. Make as big a circle around it. Escape, if at all possible.
The red dot near Verona is where another intersection was backed up waiting for bicyclists! At least this one had a sign saying EXPECT LONG DELAYS. Sure, it was placed after you had passed all possible alternate routes, but at least there was a sign here, unlike the PD.
The blue dots are intersections I would've gone north at, except they were backed up waiting for a break in the flow of bicyclists!
It isn't marked, but at some point during this nightmare journey I actually wound up driving ON THE RACE ROUTE! The unlabeled race route! I went about a mile having to drive on the left side of the road and praying that I hadn't died without noticing, descended into hell, and thus embarked upon an eternity of being unable to escape this fucking race!
The red dot at the far right was another intersection backed up waiting for bicyclists to go through! It was, however, my last chance to get home without perhaps detouring all the way to Oregon! (The town, not the state.) Thankfully there were no bicyclists once I made that last turn north or else I probably would have snapped.
Total time to make two twenty-minute trips and a ten-minute pitstop? About two and a half hours.
Signs seen marking the race route? Two, both small, in Verona proper.
Responsibility for letting it be known whether public roads that are accessible today will not be blocked off for a private entertainment function tomorrow?
Well, I guess that belongs to everyone who might be driving anywhere south and west of Madison. Sure, we could expect, you know, signs to be posted, but I guess it's much more reasonable to A) expect everyone -- Madison residents and those just passing through alike -- to keep abreast of biking events in Madison; B) expect those same everyones to check the Ironman website -- regularly, since as it says on that site, "Courses are subject to change"; and C) oh wait no that is retarded it's not my job to visit the website of an event I'm not even interested in just to find out whether I will be allowed to drive on a public street to get to WORK.
So in conclusion: Ironman, I hate you. Please at least put up a sign by the road you're shutting down, preferably before I've passed the last free intersection and am now doomed to sit and wait for your fun little racey-wacey that's okay I didn't have work to do or anything and boy howdy sucks for the people who live on that road you shut down who might've needed to call 911 for ambulances or something but that's okay 'cause they're not bicyclists so they can just die I guess. Perhaps you could even put up the sign the night before! You don't have to, though, it's always nice to keep us big stupid driver types on our toes.
In conclusion of my conclusion: Ironman, I HATE YOU.
