So. Today was my first real day of riding. I took off around 10 and planned on a short ride, but I just felt like pedaling today. The weather was perfect and I had a lot of energy for some reason. The bike was also a hundred times better than my clunky hybrid.
I ended up going on a 77.77 mile trip. I went through a bunch of the little towns in my area (Denmark, Blackville, Springfield) that I had previously quickly driven through by car. I didn't realize how much local culture there was. Nor did I realize these towns still had a unique identity. I'd assume they had all died off long ago.
It's not to say they are thriving, but every single one had a few restaurants, a renovated downtown area and some presence of a local artist. There was even a little town fair in Denmark. This appreciation is something that's hard to find in a car and one of the main reasons I like traveling by bike (that and the opportunity to stop and speak with people)
I had lunch at a bakery in Denmark (the Wee Bakery - they also have some killer BBQ sandwiches). On the way home I stopped off at the Jim Harrison art gallery. On the outskirts of town I went by this quiet place called healing springs and actually ran into one of the members from the UU church I used to attended in Columbia.
In addition to the small towns I spent a lot of time on the rural back roads to avoid the traffic. I saw the mom and pop farms I thought agribusiness had long since destroyed.
I ended up going on a 77.77 mile trip. I went through a bunch of the little towns in my area (Denmark, Blackville, Springfield) that I had previously quickly driven through by car. I didn't realize how much local culture there was. Nor did I realize these towns still had a unique identity. I'd assume they had all died off long ago.
It's not to say they are thriving, but every single one had a few restaurants, a renovated downtown area and some presence of a local artist. There was even a little town fair in Denmark. This appreciation is something that's hard to find in a car and one of the main reasons I like traveling by bike (that and the opportunity to stop and speak with people)
I had lunch at a bakery in Denmark (the Wee Bakery - they also have some killer BBQ sandwiches). On the way home I stopped off at the Jim Harrison art gallery. On the outskirts of town I went by this quiet place called healing springs and actually ran into one of the members from the UU church I used to attended in Columbia.
In addition to the small towns I spent a lot of time on the rural back roads to avoid the traffic. I saw the mom and pop farms I thought agribusiness had long since destroyed.
