The Sounds of April 1st
Another month, another challenge. I like this month’s “Colorful Sounds” challenge not only because it should produce some interesting results, but also because it really will be pretty challenging. I tried to record quite a few sounds during my ride today, but my phone didn’t pick up most of them. (Songbirds singing from high up in the trees, for example.)
Nevertheless, I kept my ears tuned in and managed to get a few sounds for today’s presentation.
That brings me to the Featured Photo up there at the top. It’s the only photograph I took. Can you hear the sound? No? Well, to me it “sounds” like an April Fools joke played on me by the city of MY Town. It’s a pretty elaborate one too. They narrowed 15th Street–a main artery–down to one lane. That means MY Street, 14th St., is getting at least 10 times the normal amount of traffic. Good one, MY Town!
Actually, this is a GOOD thing. See that hill up ahead in the photo? A bike rider can easily attain 35 m.p.h. on that thing, but it is so full of potholes that he or she has to be nuts to even try swerving around them at that kind of speed. Hopefully, in a couple of months I can pedal down that hill on brand new pavement.
Okay, let’s move on to REAL sounds. I’ve got three of them for you. The first one reminded me of a song called “Choo Choo Ch’boogie. I loved the “clickity- clack” sound of the train, and I was glad to be back at the track, Jack. You can hear Asleep at the Wheel’s exciting version of the song before moving on to my own less-than-exciting train sound.
After a couple of failed attempts at capturing sound, I heard this grinding sound from at least six blocks away. Of course I had to investigate.
It was time for a break. I dragged my bike down to the shore of the Vermillion River, which is running fast thanks to the spring snowmelt. I love the sound of fast moving water. It’s a sound that can easily lull a bike rider to sleep, even when it’s only 38-degrees.
I didn’t go to sleep though, because the sun felt so good on my face that I was afraid I might never get up.
I resisted posting videos of Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s “Ripplin’ Waters” and Grateful Dead’s “Ripple.” You can look them up yourself if you so desire.
By the way, if you listen carefully to my Rippling Waters video, you can hear the sounds of a few songbirds in the nearby bushes.
Happy sound-hunting everyone!
gregblood
Hi. My name is Greg and I ride my bike a lot. That is to say, I ride my bike almost every day. I go on long rides and short rides. Sunny rides, cloudy rides, and rainy rides. I like commuting, errand-running, day-tripping, overnighting, and touring on my bike. I ride on city streets, highways, gravel, single track, and snow with equal enthusiasm. Sometimes I ride fast and sometimes I ride slow. I try to keep my feet on the pedals at stop lights and I do not dismount when I hop up on a curb. I have a roadie bike, a mountain bike and a touring bike. I try to accept any challenge a bike ride can throw at me without complaint. But I don't like bugs.
3 response to "The Sounds of April 1st"
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A great collection of sounds. When I first read about this challenge, my very first thought was to ride down to the river to catch the sound of running water.
I always feel bad for those neighborhoods that have roads that parallel a major thoroughfare, especially now in the days of GPS and Google Maps. As soon as those major roads get just a little backed up, Google happily directs everybody to head down that road through the local neighborhood.
Nice sounds! Maybe a Gloppida Gloppida machine lurks somewhere in Hastings.
There is no challenge that is too —— challenging for you Greg ;’-). Nice collection here.