That opening question is carrying a lot of freight. Many (I’m tempted to say most) riders don’t go much of anywhere on their bikes. Sure, they ride, but it’s usually a recreational or training loop that gets them back to exactly where they started. The whole purpose of the ride was to ride, not to get somewhere. That’s okay. There is nothing wrong with riding for recreation and fitness. Indeed, there is a lot to be said for it.
It will come as no shock to long time readers, I am greatly interested in using the bicycle for transportation. My bike takes me to the store, to work, and to other destinations. That’s ordinary utility riding. I also like to use the bike to go out and explore my world.
I continue to fill in the various blanks in the local area. By “local,” I mean pretty much everything that can be ridden to and back from in a day. So that means everything within 75 miles of my home. That’s an area of roughly 17,663 square miles. There’s a lot there to look at and poke around in.
At heart I’m a tourist. I get a case of fiddle feet, and I just have to go somewhere and see stuff. I see stuff along the way. I get off of the bike and noodle around in interesting things. (N.B. That’s how I first saw the Paleolithic structure up on Fort Mountain. I had no idea it was there. I was riding by it, on the way to something else, saw the park, and went in to investigate. How I just “happened” to be riding by there is another story entirely.)
I have ridden to five of our state’s borders, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and the Atlantic. (I don’t count Florida, as I rode to that border, on multiple occasions, from within Florida.)
There are wonders, mysteries, and sights to behold, out there, just beyond our horizons. Many are impossible to be seen from an automobile. They are there, just waiting to be discovered.
My fiddle feet are starting to act up again. I have a strong hankering to get on the bike and go somewhere. So…
Where does your bike take you? And, who’s interested in doing some touring?
I can definitely relate. Last year in late February I did a ride out from PTC to Rockmart to ride the Silver Comet trail for a couple miles and ride a couple of the local hills. Was a 143 miles round trip and took around 8 hours. This gave me confidence to ride to my old hometown in south Georgia where my parents still live, about 144 or so miles away, one way, a ride i've done several times since. Watching even everyday scenery roll by me never gets old.
ReplyDeleteHaving grown up near the Florida line, I must weigh in and say that I dispute where the Georgia/Florida border really is. Barring the sight of some spanish moss it really doesn't really happen until you are well south of the panhandle anyway. Then once you are south of Orlando it is another country anyway. ; )
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