A Literary Visitor Strolls in From the Airport  The author Will Self likes to take long walks. He recently walked from Kennedy Airport to Manhattan:

“People don’t know where they are anymore, “ he said, adding: “In the post-industrial age, this is the only form of real exploration left. Anyone can go and see the Ituri pygmy, but how many people have walked all the way from the airport to the city?”

I feel that way about bike commuting. It's an adventure every day and it allows you to “know where they are”, not see the world passing by behind the window of a car. I got to know a lot about where I am yesterday. Our bicycle advocacy group is compiling a map of bike routes in Fairfax County.

I recently received a map on which some routes were drawn and I wanted to check them out. It was about a 40 mile journey, through Vienna, to George Mason Univ., and south to Burke, and back along the Fairfax County Parkway. On the return trip, my feet were so cold in the 30 degree weather that I had to walk the bike for a while to get the circulation going. It really did feel like an adventure, right here close to home.
posted by Bruce Wright at 3:25 PM #