... Boy Are My Arms Tired!

Yesterday I paddled the Mississippi River Challenge sponsored by Friends of the Mississippi River. It was originally going to be a two-day 44-mile paddle through the entire Twin Cities but because of the bridge collapse, the first day (which included the stretch under 35W) was cancelled. However, 22-miles is still a significant distance to paddle in one weekend. Below is a map of the route (click for big).



This paddle continues my summer-o-paddling the Twin Cities Rivers.

I recently paddled a stretch from Bohemian Flats (just downstream of 35W) to Hidden Falls Park.

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And I also jumped into the Minnesota River just downstream of Hwy 77, paddled to the Mississippi, and took out at Lilydale.

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35 dub

I-35W collapsed today into the Mississippi River. Crazy. Unbelievable.


Photo from the BBC website

Heres a link to some sobering photos from the Star Tribune: (you'll have to log in, but its worth it if you want to see)

I was on the light rail on the way to a Twins game when the crowd in the train started murmuring and staring out the window. I saw smoke but thought it was just a bad accident but then someone said the bridge had collapsed. I thought just a little hunk must have fell into the river; the bridge was under construction. But then I got several frantic calls from friends and family asking if I was OK, they heard the news, they'd been trying for hours to get a hold of me but the lines were down. Then I figured it out: the entire bridge fell into the Mississippi River. Wow.

I guess this changes my weekend plans. I was going to paddle under that bridge in a canoe as part of the Friends of the Mississippi River 22-mile Canoe Challenge.

I guess this changes my whole life actually. My work is dedicated to that section of the Mississippi River, I live just downstream of that stretch of the River, I center my recreational activities around canoeing, biking, running, and hiking along that stretch of the river. That's why I choose to live in the Minneapolis. hmmmm.

They've been saying it will takes years to rebuild, they have no idea why it collapsed (but that we shouldn't suspect terrorism), and that they expect to find lots of dead bodies tomorrow.

It is the top news story on the BBC: Seven Dead as US Bridge Collapses

A schematic from the Star Tribune

The whole Star Trib article