A couple of weeks ago when Donna came back from a bike ride, she told me that the railing on the Rose Creek bridge had been damaged. She wondered what could have bent the railing upward over the pedestrian/bicycle bridge. A few days later, as I rode my bicycle over the bridge, I stopped to investigate.
The railing was indeed bent upward on the north side of the bridge, near the crest. There were black tire marks on the curb, beginning several feet to the east of the bent rail. It was apparent to me that a westbound vehicle had hit the curb, then climbed up the curb and struck the railing from below. There was black paint scraped onto the rail.
Rail damage on the Rose Creek pedestrian/bicycle bridge
Why would someone drive a motor vehicle over this narrow bridge, which is clearly marked No Motor Vehicles? The bridge is arced fairly steeply. A vehicle moving at speed wouldn’t see a pedestrian coming up from the other side.
Workers repairing the damage
Yesterday, I crossed the bridge on my bicycle. Workers had the north side of the bridge closed as they made repairs.
When I returned to the Mission Bay RV Resort, I stopped to snap a quick photo of some neighbors who had moved in a few days ago. It’s a trio of Prevost (say PRE-voh, the st is silent) conversions that appear to be traveling together.
L-R Prevost Marathon, Featherlite and Millenium coaches
These coaches, built on 45-foot Prevost chassis, fascinate me. They are the creme de la creme of motorhomes. In my opinion, they are rivaled only by Newell. These three were completed by different manufacturers. The Marathon Coach and the Millenium Coach were built from a Prevost H series while the Featherlite Vantare started with a Prevost X series. The differences are detailed on the Prevost site.
Just for grins, I looked up current Millenium Coach pricing. Donna and I toured one of their coaches at the FMCA Converntion. The one we looked at retailed for $2.3 million. You can see the specs for a new X series here. The retail price is $2,039,025!
This new H series quad slide may be the one we toured in Redmond, OR. Retail price is $2,364,032! So, our neighborhood has gone upscale.
I’m not impressed by someone’s celebrity stature, but I often wonder how people made their fortunes. It’s interesting for me to meet successful people on the road and hear their stories. So far, what I’ve heard most often is a combination of hard work and luck. Being in the right place at the right time. Having the skillset to take advantage of opportunities. And having a willingness to take risks and overcome failures. Hopefully I’ll have a chance to hear our new neighbors’ stories.
I’m sure that driving over pedestrian bridges and crashing into the handrail doesn’t figure into anyone’s success story.