 |
| Eastbound Komoka, ON July 2021 This photo originally shared on Instagram |
I've stopped here because it's hot, and I need to refuel before I turn the bike toward home way too many kilometres thataway. I carry my own water and snacks, and as I munch away next to the crossing signals, I take note of the tracks beside my front tire.
They're old, their weathered, splintered ties disappearing into a mess of grit, gravel, and weeds. This is not a glittering high-speed rail line - just a tired stretch of track in the countryside that seems like an ideal analog to Canada's historic ignorance of its railway heritage.
Yet I still find myself drawn to places like this.
Maybe they echo what it took to pull this geographically-vast land into an economically feasible network of communities.
Maybe they reflect the small communities from coast to coast to coast that still rely on them to keep the lights on.
Maybe the romance of life on the rails still flickers amid the crushed railbed and rusting spikes that anchor the track.
As is often the case, I have no real answers to the silent questions posed by this too-often-overlooked place as my mind firms up the route for the ride home. And soon enough, it's time to get back on the pedals.
But part of me wonders what it might be like to ride a freight train back to the city at the other end of the line.
Part of me wonders what the future of rail travel will look like in places like this.
Part of me wonders why I wonder about things like this at all.
#ldnont #london #komoka #middlesex #centre #ontario #canada #rail #railroad #train #history #landscape #landscapephotography #cycling #cyclist #cycle #bicycle #bike #cyclinglife #random #roadside #photography #apple #iphone #iphone11 #shotoniphone #photooftheday #instagood #nofilter #nofilterneeded
Related:
The orange machine heads west, July 2021
The protectors around us, May 2014
Rolling out, rolling on, April 2014
Salt, pepper, or both? April 2013
Grey path to nowhere, March 2013
After the fall, January 2013
Tractor beam, September 2011
No comments:
Post a Comment
Please note that Written Inc. has been set up so that all comments must first be moderated before they go live on the blog. I apologize for the inconvenience, but this is to ensure bots and trolls don't muck up the works. If you have any difficulty leaving a comment here as a result, please feel free to email it to carmilevy AT gmail DOT com. Thank you for your understanding.