The Last Route 72/73 Ride.
Oct. 9th, 2018 07:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jamesqThe Circle Route (72 goes clockwise, 73 goes counter-clockwise) is a venerable bus route in Calgary. It covers a wide swath of the city, and has been around, with minor tweaks, for my whole life. It seemed eternal, and it was always a nice surprise to be in strange part of the city and see a 72/73 bus stop. You knew, no matter how lost you were, that you could get home. In the days before ubiquitous smartphones, that was a comfort.
But all good things come to an end - Calgary Transit is retiring the circle route. To give you an idea of how much heavy lifting this route did, it's taking 13 other routes to duplicate it. Its last day will be Sunday, November 18.
Which gave me an idea for some odd fun: A Circle Route Brewery Tour. Once around the city, stopping at assorted breweries along the way. My tentative route:
Now that's I've impressed you with my genius, let me convince you not to join me:
First, I never get anyone to do these weird-ass things with me. It's one of the reasons I never post with lots of lead time - I can at least convince myself that the reason no one comes is because it was short notice. But enough about my issues.
Second, It takes three hours to go once around the circle route. Figuring four brewery stops with just one brewery each stop for an hour and we're looking at a seven hour day (and probably more like eight - see below). Some of the gaps are over an hour long.
Third, Some of the walks from the stops are long. Citizen isn't too bad, nor is Zero Issue. Common Crown is nearly three Kilometres - that's a 30-minute walk one way. On the bright side Prairie Dog has a bus stop outside their front door. Long walks don't bother me much, unless it's ass-biting cold.
Finally, It'll be mid-November, so the odds of it being ass-biting cold, or having impassable sidewalks, are very high.
Will I do it? Maybe - I certainly want to do it, but it's over a month away and a lot can happen. I think if the weather isn't firmly in the might-get-eaten-by-wolves category, and I don't have any more social options on the day, I'll do it. It'll be like my summer bike rides - an excuse to waste some time and get some exercise.
If I do it, I'll live-tweet my journey, so at the very least, people can meet me on the part of the route nearest their house, and go to the next brewery stop. It'll be an adventure!
But all good things come to an end - Calgary Transit is retiring the circle route. To give you an idea of how much heavy lifting this route did, it's taking 13 other routes to duplicate it. Its last day will be Sunday, November 18.
Which gave me an idea for some odd fun: A Circle Route Brewery Tour. Once around the city, stopping at assorted breweries along the way. My tentative route:
- Brentwood Station: Start.
- EB 41 Av NE @ 1 St NE: Citizen Brewing.
- EB 32 Av NE @ 12 St NE: Zero Issue Brewing and/or Minhas Micro Brewing.
- SB 36 St SE @ 8 Av SE: Common Crown Brewing and/or Tool Shed Brewing and/or Red Bison Brewing.
- SB Barlow TR @ 61 AV SE: Good Mood Brewery
- SB Centre ST S @ 58 AV S: Prairie Dog Brewing. Also, this is the closest approach to the Manchester portion of the barley belt, so there's about nine breweries within two kilometres.
- WB Richardson WY @ Bishop WY SW: Wild Rose Brewing.
- Brentwood station: End.
Now that's I've impressed you with my genius, let me convince you not to join me:
First, I never get anyone to do these weird-ass things with me. It's one of the reasons I never post with lots of lead time - I can at least convince myself that the reason no one comes is because it was short notice. But enough about my issues.
Second, It takes three hours to go once around the circle route. Figuring four brewery stops with just one brewery each stop for an hour and we're looking at a seven hour day (and probably more like eight - see below). Some of the gaps are over an hour long.
Third, Some of the walks from the stops are long. Citizen isn't too bad, nor is Zero Issue. Common Crown is nearly three Kilometres - that's a 30-minute walk one way. On the bright side Prairie Dog has a bus stop outside their front door. Long walks don't bother me much, unless it's ass-biting cold.
Finally, It'll be mid-November, so the odds of it being ass-biting cold, or having impassable sidewalks, are very high.
Will I do it? Maybe - I certainly want to do it, but it's over a month away and a lot can happen. I think if the weather isn't firmly in the might-get-eaten-by-wolves category, and I don't have any more social options on the day, I'll do it. It'll be like my summer bike rides - an excuse to waste some time and get some exercise.
If I do it, I'll live-tweet my journey, so at the very least, people can meet me on the part of the route nearest their house, and go to the next brewery stop. It'll be an adventure!
