Glass House

Oh! ‘Tis the season! The season of the dreaded leaf pile. If you are a cyclist in Chico, this is one of the worst times of year to ride. At least that’s true inside the city limits. On beautiful fall and early winter days, crisp and bright with angled sunshine, we cyclists have little time to look up and enjoy. We must concentrate on dodging the endless leaves piled in the bike lanes. Most of the time this requires a foray out into automobile territory where our presence often generates impatience and resentment. Occasionally it is possible to ride between the leaf pile and the curb. Interestingly, the biggest piles seem to be in front of businesses along the most heavily used thoroughfares in Chico. For instance, today pedaling toward downtown on Vallombrosa by the post office my ten year old son and I skirted large piles of leaves dotting the entire length of the bike lane from Arbutus to Mangrove. It makes me think that these bike lanes are really just authorized for the use of bicyclists three-quarters of the year. Maybe I missed the memo…