Of bikes, and ducks and cycling tracks...

This afternoon I set off for my first real ride around Davis (trips to campus and the shops don't really count!). I set off to do a loop around the town. There is an excellent layout of bike lanes on most roads, which makes it quite safe and easy, although there are more robots (or should I say traffic lights!) than I would like to see. I had a great ride and was starting to head back home, when I came across a road marking indicating part of the Davis Bicycle Loop. On the spur of the moment I decided to turn off and take that route, as I had a vague recollection that it would lead me in the right direction. Well, it did... eventually!

The Bike Loop takes one on a lovely scenic route through the town, avoiding the roads and sticking to the excellent network of cycle tracks. They have really gone to a lot of trouble with that, providing dedicated bridges, underpasses and overpasses and an incredible network of paths. Some of the bridges over the two main highways are really impressive (although my dislike for heights was severely tested over one of them!).

The path took me along the Putah Creek through the UC Davis Arboretum. Putah Creek is UCD's answer to Cotch Creek, only with more water, but even grungier (hard to believe, but it's true!). The water can't be too grungy, because the creek is heavily populated with ducks and geese, as the accompanying photo (taken a few weeks ago) shows. And yes, the water is that green!

Anyway, I had a great ride, thoroughly enjoying the ducks, geese and 30km of great bike trails.