Bicycling: it's not just for kids anymore

Since moving east, I've really missed the ability to easily hop on my bike and go for a ride. While I lived in NY, I would ride from my apartment on 6th Avenue and take 'side' streets to the west side highway where there is a park that runs the length of Manhattan. It was great once I was on the trail but I felt like I was on a kamikaze mission to get there.

While working at Microsoft, it was not uncommon for people to ride their bikes from as far away as Seattle to the suburb on the Burke-Gilman trail which gently rolls twenty + miles in a car free park-like trail to Microsoft. There are showers & locker rooms throughout the 'campus' so why not? The thing is, this was common with a lot companies in the northwest. It's not a hippy thing but rather, a great alternative to a cup of coffee. Just imagine the feeling of spending 45 minutes on your bike while riding alongside a beautiful sleugh that ends at a park just a short distance from your office instead of sitting in traffic. And even that 'short distance' where you have to ride on the road, there is a bike lane that car drivers, for the most part are respectful of.

Now, there are stunnning drives here in Fairfield County and we've been on many of them. We see cyclists wearing their yellow jerseys as they try to keep an eye on traffic. My gripe is that there are no signs to keep people aware of how to drive around cyclists nor are there bike lanes. The towns are encouraging people to drive. I know that building bike lanes is out of the question for these towns that are 200+ years old but by informing and encouraging the locals to 'share the road' might actually get more people out on their bikes. That would be a beautiful thing. Oh and if you decide to give the ol' bike a try, ALWAYS wear a helmet.