I have been giving some thought to this lately. In the score and a half I have spent on this rock, I have moved around quite a bit. This has afforded me the advantage of riding in lots of different places and getting to know what and where I enjoy turning the cranks. Some places, the biking is the majority of what I miss after I move away. In others, it is a mix of biking and other elements (friends, urbanity) that I long for. As I search for single track, multi-use trails, wide shoulders, and quiet country roads to call my home, I am beginning to learn very important things. All too often, whether I ride or not is determined by my energy level at the end of the work day and if I have a convenient place to ride, this benefits me in many ways.
Among the frontrunners of these lessons is the value of close, easily accessible places to ride. These are the ones I use when I get home after a long day and need to get out and unwind. The ones I find within a short spin of the front door. They don't require a car ride or if they do, it is a short one rewarded with long uninterrupted stretches of "hammer down" miles. In PA, I had this in both mountain and road form. In VA, the same was true. Here in NY, I am learning these are harder to come by and as winter flip-flops with spring, I am struggling to find them again. Rochester (or where I was fortunate to live while there) had this. As I explore Syracuse, I am learning this is an important trait I should carefully evaluate when and if I relocate in the future.
And, I must ask, why is March deciding to invade April? Wasn't it 55 and sunny on Sunday? Isn't it time for the snow to stop and spring to arrive?
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