Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Bike Path

Sometimes, I find it hard to get motivated to go for a ride, even though I know I'll feel much better when I get out there. In those instances, it's really best if I don't have to load my bike in the car and drive to a trail. The more effort I have to put into getting ready to ride, the less likely it is that I'll actually do it.



When I find myself in this situation, the best thing to do is hop on my bike and head out from my house, maybe taking the Lansing River Trail, which I can access a few blocks from home. I think bike paths are tremendously underrappreciated by most "serious" cyclists.



I know a lot of cyclists who think bike paths are boring, filled with too many recreational riders on comfort bikes and families. I also know there are some people who think you're not tough enough if you aren't comfortable riding with traffic.



I feel fine riding in traffic, generally. I don't usually ride on the sidewalk, either. Once in a while, though, I just appreciate being able to get on a bike path and not have to worry about traffic or mapping out a route. I just ride it to the end and turn around and come back.



It may not be as challenging as some other rides I could do, and it would definitely get boring if that's all I did. But I'm still on my bike and I'm turning the cranks and that's always better than sitting on the couch.

1 comment:

CorporateHippy said...

Nick and I have put many many many miles on the Metro Pkwy path - hitting it the hardest this year - for the same reason: no driving required.

Its about 2 miles to the path from our house and a nice 19 mile loop all the way out to the point of metro beach and back.

Its flat and kind of boring, but I figure, its better than sitting on the couch eating chips, no?

:D