I have thoughts... And I hope you want to hear them.

Dear Diary,
Dear Interwebz,

Hi.

I have thoughts (apparently!). For sometime now I’ve been thinking about joining this general community of bloggers. It’s not that I have complex thoughts, necessarily, but just enough random musings that I’d like to get them on paper. I considered getting a journal, one of those nice leather-bound Hemingway jobs, but it’s not like I’m planning to write the next great novel. I’m no Dostoyevsky, as you'll soon realize. Plus, I’ve been reading lately that we’re becoming an increasingly paperless society.

(Note to self – Switch to online banking, start using e-tickets when I travel, and cancel my subscription to the NY Times.)

Thus, a blog.

I actually finalized my decision to start a blog while on a bike ride this past weekend. Until recently, my rides consisted of a few miles on the Alpharetta Greenway, which is about 10 miles of paved trails for jogging, walking and biking. For whatever reason, I couldn’t bring myself to start riding on actual roads. However, one of my goals this year is to get more active in my cycling, and there’s no way I can do that and also constrain myself to the easiest 10 miles I can find. If I decide to try a half-century ride later this year, I can’t go from a 10-mile trail to attempting 50 miles of real road, complete with uneven surfacing and (gasp!) hills.

Plus, now that I’ve decided to start cycling on the “mean streets of Alpharetta,” I find myself with more thoughts floating around since I don’t think it’s wise to play my iPod when (1) cars are zipping past me at 50 mph and (b) the road simply requires more concentration than the trails. (As an aside, did you know that even paved roads are sometimes bumpy?)

What struck me during my ride this week was how much of Alpharetta I’ve been missing in my car. For example, I honestly didn’t realize there was a pretty large park only 2 miles north of my house. I’ve been living in Alpharetta now for three years and never noticed the giant park staring me in the face! What a shame. I also didn’t realize how hilly our landscape is; it’s much more noticeable when you’re on a bike going 32 mph downhill and trying to bike up the subsequently steep incline. It was a “forest for the trees” kind of ride, and I’m looking forward to exploring more of Alpharetta on bike. If you’re a cyclist, chances are you’ve had similar thoughts; if you’re not, I challenge you to think more like a rider when you’re on your next Sunday drive wherever you live. And don’t forget to share the road.