Bike Path From (or to?) Hell

There's supposedly a bike path, a rather short one, at the border between Syracuse and Liverpool. It would appear to offer an easier way to navigate a complex bit of road that includes a highway interchange.

Having been there, it is my considered opinion that this is not a bike path. This is a horror movie.

The path has clearly not been maintained in years. The surface is cracked and rippled. The plants to either side cover up to half that path in places, reaching out to slap passing cyclists. They also block any visual connection with the outside world; you travel this twisty little patch of asphalt, winding under graffiti-covered overpasses and fenced off road-side thickets and you can't see another human being. I fully expected to find a homeless encampment as the space seems well-suited to that kind of ad-hoc place-making, but it seems that even they steer clear.

I almost forgot; the southeast terminus is in the middle of some kind of construction site under one of the aforementioned overpasses. The northwest end...well, it just kind of runs into a wall of plants and stops. There was a patch of grass that seemed to go on to somewhere else from there, but I elected not to find out where.


A representative portion of the path.


Degraded section of pavement (one of many) on the path.



On the way home, I passed these side-by-side building on Pond Street. The "All American Market" stands next to the "All Asian Store". Ethnic rivalry?





All that aside, I had a nice five mile ride to a thrift store in Liverpool this morning, then back home. Time to get to work!