Alley Riding

A Waterloo, Iowa alley.

 A few days ago I received a comment on my last Country Views post concerning the amount of alleys Waterloo, Iowa has. Ironically this has been something I've been curious about for years. In fact, I have bounced the idea off N.Y. Roll for having a century ride on Waterloo's network of alleys. I was guessing there would be enough mileage in alleyways to pull such a feat off.

Well, this comment from last weekend spurred me into motion to actually do some research. And surprisingly it did not take long to dig up the answer. There was a Facebook post from the City of Waterloo speaking to alley maintenance. The question was asked and posted in the comment left by the social media person for the City. The mileage? 80.5 miles.  

So.....now what? This is the question.

Riding alleys is not a novel idea, and organized rides on alleys happen all the time. "Alleycats", fun rides, or other alley based riding is a big deal in some areas. Oddly enough, almost no one rides alleys here.

Our alleys make you feel as though you are kind of in someone's back yard. Almost in a trespassing kind of way. While alleys are public domain throughways, maintained by the City, many people see them as their personal driveways. They seem to consider you kind of like some intruder into their private space when they see you on a bicycle. So, in light of this unspoken feeling, I can see why cyclists avoid alleys.

Alleys are also rife with potholes, and most are not paved. There are dogs, usually on leashes or behind fences, and lots of cross streets to watch out for. Some alleys are paved, but usually these are cracked, full of bumps, and sometimes glass and garbage. Of course, given the choice to ride paved or unpaved surfaces, most people would choose pavement, not alleys. I'm not one of those people. 

In fact, I've made it a mission to understand the alleys and where they go here. I want to interconnect routes using mostly alleys, at any time I can, so I can stay off the streets. Seeing as how Waterloo has copious amounts of choices in alleys, especially in the older parts of the city I live in, this makes my riding a lot more interesting to me.

 So, I think this the ride of alleys is going to happen. I just need to sit down with a City map and decide what would be the best way to put together a ride and make it a metric century. I may do this on my old 29"er single speed, or use the new set up for the  Singular Buzzard bike and make it a test ride as well. But whatever the bike, I think this ride needs to happen this year.

Stay tuned.... 

I've found long stretches of uninterrupted alley routes, and secret sections which are fun to explore at times. I do purposeful alley rides where I try to do as much alleyway as possible.