Bicycle route blues......wait, bonanza!

Well, blues and bonanza might not be the right words.  Riding the same route each day does start to get a little old, especially if your trying to write something about it each day.  Don't get me wrong, the river path is great and there's no traffic to deal with.  Mill St. also has it's pluses (mainly speed).  However, to relieve this problem I've taken up riding 4th St. from Washington St. to Galletti Way on my morning commute.

I know some people might not enjoy this route (East 4th St. does have a reputation), but it's really a pretty low stress street to ride on.  There is relatively little traffic and the speeds are lower than alternate routes like Mill St.

As for the lore of East 4th....for those of you not familiar.  There are a fair number of rough pseudo-industrial businesses, St. Vincents homeless shelter, and low budget "weekly" hotels if you head out along this route.  It has long had a reputation as a unpleasant area.  However, this is really changing even during the hard economic times.  There are new businesses popping up and old businesses pushing back against this image.  So I'd encourage you to venture out this way next time you need some real Reno culture.

Start out with a drink at the Lincoln Lounge, a throwback to prohibition drinking.  You can't see in from the outside, so no one knows your partaking in drinking debauchery.  Once your inside you'll be greeted with a plush velvet interior and a nice beer garden out back.

You will see some unique characters as you roll by St. Vincents, but their not really even going to interact with you.  Once you pass them stop in and check out the Reno Bike Project.

I'll post more on the rest of the ride next week.  Let's just say their are some good places to check out for food and beer.

I'm thinking we might just have to organize a 4th St. bike tour as summer rolls in!  Until then...explore a new route.  You never know just how interesting it might be.