Path to no one

Lately, the comments section of this blog has been the place to be. (Memo to self: Buy more bandwidth next time I diss a Melissa Ruggieri review!) My post suggesting bikes, roller skates and skateboards be allowed on Canal Walk drew particular criticism from someone who said s/he could "guarantee you that there are many, many people using the Canal Walk every day, spring, summer, fall and winter" and that if I wanted an accurate picture of it, I should go at lunchtime.

So that's what I did today. Boy, was I wrong--on a 78 degree day, possibly the last warm day of the year, the Turning Basin hosted eight people at 12:59 p.m. Brown's Island was even more hopping: 15 people (and I'm counting one guy who looked like he might have been heading over there and one lady who sat down on a bench on the other side of the island, which I thought was close enough) at 1:07 p.m.

Hey, maybe lunchtime in Richmond ends at 1 p.m. Fair enough; would I see more than three times that many people on Canal Walk an hour earlier? Would I see 100 people at any time? Because if 100 people occupied the 1.25 mile-long walk at any one time, even the world's most inept cyclist (me) would encounter, on average, one person per 66 feet.

So please, let me know what I'm doing wrong here. Should I go earlier? Hell, get in touch, let's set up a time and go together.