The Odd State of Cycling in Another State:

A semi-local motorist stopped me yesterday. (He was certainly more local than I am. His car had plates for this state and county.) He asked directions. This often happens to me when I’m riding. Folks just naturally assume that a cyclist must be “from around here.”

I’ve found another fairly consistent thing about traveling by bike. Cyclists tend to be pretty much left alone and unbothered, regardless of the locale. Over the years I’ve wandered (deliberately or inadvertently) into a wide range of “locals.” Oddly, when on the bike, I’m usually tolerated, if not welcomed.

My friend Kevin speculates that this is because a traveling cyclist is “neutral.” Folks know we aren’t “from around here,” and we won’t be here long. We aren’t a part of the local interactions, just passing through. As a result, we don’t threaten anyone’s particular position.

I don’t know. I just know I’m usually treated fairly well, when I’m on the bike. Food for thought.

One thing I have noticed concerns directions. Locals are usually only too willing to misdirect a traveling cyclist. I don’t think the “misdirect” part is deliberate. But it hardly matters. In almost every case, if I’ve stopped to ask directions, someone is very willing to give them. They are almost always wrong. Either they take me into things a cyclist should never attempt (interstate highways, one way streets, major six lane traffic), or they are just completely unworkable. (And folks sometimes wonder why I carry cue sheets, a map, and a GPS?)

Incidentally, I did this yesterday. I was on a street that wasn’t quite going where I wanted to go. I asked a local for help. I wrote his instructions down and inserted them in my cue sheet holder. I then followed them closely. I found myself at the end of a street that stopped in a large sand dune. Clearly it didn’t go anywhere else. There’s a lesson in this, but I’m not sure what it is.

I find I am looking forward to coming back home. I can hardly wait for the next Spin Class, the Novice Road Ride on this coming Sunday, or the next attempt at Nights Under Lights.

On that note: These haven’t appeared on the Tuesday Tome yet, but each year I do a couple of Christmas lights rides. One of them is on the paths in Peachtree City, and the other is on the roads, through Fayette County. Watch for these soon.