[quote="Sjoerd PENNY--It is so nice that they keep expanding your bike trails there. Could you bike over to see Netty if you wanted to, or don't they extend that far yet?[/quote] You know what, i honestly dont know , i dont think that they go that far, but i could be wrong. Somthing to check into for next year, as my husband and i both bike about 3 miles each night, after supper :-D
I thought of you and your bike paths today Sjoerd while I was waiting at a red light on my way into the City to work and watching several bike riders pick their way through the traffic. It looked treacherous. It would be nice to have safe places for riders. Do your paths go through very urban areas too?
DAISY-- yes our bike paths go through urban areas. In fact they are clearly marked to the right of the auto lanes. There are also traffic laws in place to protect the bike riders. Sort of like the laws on hitting someone from behind with your auto. The one who runs ionto someone in fromt is always in the wrong. KUNTRYGAL and CHERYL-- glad you liked the paths. Sometimes I take it all for granted, and have to just stop and pay attention sometimes.
Lucky lucky! When I lived at the Beach, there were bike lanes there which I loved. There are some established bike trails around here but they are recreational rather than practical. For example, if I want to ride to Annapolis, I have to drive my car with my bike on it to the trail. Then I can ride almost to Annapolis on the trail. But then, the last 4 or 5 miles are just treacherous! Along a speeding highway, over a large really high bridge (the bridge isn't that bad) and then along the busy, crowded, car congested streets into downtown. By the time we get there, we're wound up like a clock. You don't feel like a relaxing fish dinner after that, you know?
Good grief, DAISY! That's enough to make you not want to bike! If you ever make it over this way, you can ride some bikes here on our paths and I believe the difference that you notice (and feel) will be remarkable, to say the least.
Now when I lived in Illinois, we biked all the time. There is a whole system of trails in the midwest where they've converted old railroad beds to lovely trails for bikes, horses, walking... They run between the small towns and you can actually ride across whole states on them. Wonderful and flat of course, because it's the midwest. There is also a great trail that runs along the C&O (Chesapeake and Ohio) Canal (used to be primary water route for transporting goods by way of barges) between Cumberland MD and wherever it ends I think in DC -- then it connects onto some other trails in Virginia. I've ridden parts of it and it travels through beautiful parts of Maryland and Virgina. The scenery is beautiful and the history of the canal and the small towns is really interesting too. Some parts of it are kind of steep, however! Other parts a bit on the rough terrain side, but I kind of like that!
Now those experiences sound attractive to me. The biking would be fun, of course, but the historical aspect would be a big bonus for me...and the scenery too of course. Are there campgrounds along the way?
Not so much in the midwest trails. But if you ride ong enough you will come to some quaint little towns where you may find a B&B. There, it is mostly farm land, which of course I loved. In summer, flying along the trails or country roads, the sweet smell of the corn was wonderful. There are also a fair number of Native American sites of interest here and there, such as some burial sites and such. And in other areas, there are natural sites -- rivers, rocks, water craters (I can't remember the actual name of them, but they are like sink holes that fill up with water, not very big, but interesting.) Now on the C&O canal trail and the trails that it connects to... THAT is a history buffs paradise. The history of the commerce along the canal is really rich -- the boats, the workers, the products, the lifestyles... there are stops along the way that describe different aspects of it. Then there are trails that go down in to the Civil War sites in Virginia, Jamestown and Antietem and such... In some of those areas there are camping places and again, little towns with quaint B&Bs if you prefer. There are also little pubs and whatnot where you can stop for a burger and a beer or fish and chips when you get hungry. Little art galleries or gifty shops... Then back on the trail and into the lovely scenery again.... When I lived in Virginia, this was one of my favorite ways to spend a day or two. I have always thought I would like to be able to say I had ridden the whole C&O Canal and all those areas -- but I better get busy before my knees give out!
Well, both the paths of the mid-west sound interesting as well as the historical one along the C&O Canal. Those native american sites in the mid-west sound interesting to me.We always aquaint indians with the south-west there...but in fact they were all over the place. I once saw a map of which showed the locations of many villages and found it amazing just how widespread they were throughout the whole of North and South America. I have always lamented at the conflict the european cultures which came to the Americas had with the native cultures. What a rich source of interesting historical and anthropological data there could have been had there not been such deep conflicts. Your description of things to see along the C&O trail as well as the others sounds positively intrigueing. I can see that once I got started on that, it would be difficult to get me to come home. hahaha. Well, you have set set your goal high. I hope that you can do more of those trails. Actually I understand that biking is good for one's knees. I knew an older lady here on the complex that was chatting with me about her knees one day over tea. She had said that her doc advised her to ride at least 2-3 Km's per day to get them into shape. I had never heard of that before. She did not follow that advice, had surgery and now still gardens but has trouble doing work on her knees. Anyway, I guess that you won't be biking any of the trails this winter, eh? I can imagine that it would be difficult in the winter.
