Cyclist Takes One Wrong Turn In Ladd’s Addition And Somehow Winds Up In Rural Kyrgyzstan

Navigating urban sprawl can challenge even the most directionally gifted wayfinders. A particularly tricky to traverse part of Portland is located between Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard and Division Street. The historic residential development, known as Ladd’s Addition, was particularly befuddling to cyclist Martin Swannigan on Wednesday as he tried to take a shortcut from his house off Powell Boulevard to his job at the Safeway on Hawthorne. ⁣
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“I was pretty sure I knew the way once I got to the Division New Seasons,” said Swannigan via Whatsapp from an internet cafe. “I passed by the rose test gardens, mobbed through the roundabout and then went down a diagonal street that I thought led to an alleyway that would spit me out on Hawthorne. I know Ladd’s Addition can get disorienting, but somehow I ended up on a dirt path along mountainous terrain adjacent to a field of sheep. I thought I was in Narnia.” ⁣
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He went on to detail how confused he was when he couldn’t find his way back to any familiar territory. “I must have taken multiple wrong turns without realizing it. I tried to ask people I saw for directions, but no one spoke english. Eventually I found someone I could communicate with and they showed me our location on a map. I was in southwestern Kyrgyzstan, about 200 kilometers from the border with Tajikistan. Go figure.” ⁣
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Ladd’s Addition’s status as a designated historic district restricts most remodels and new construction. Swannigan expressed understanding peppered with concern. “I get that we have to protect the elm trees and William S. Ladd’s original vision, but it’s truly a labyrinth in there. I am going to petition the neighborhood association to at least put up some more signage, so others don’t get as lost as I did.“⁣
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At press time, Swannigan was looking into booking a bus ride back to Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, while also attempting to alert his boss that he might be late for his shift.