The title of this blog post sounds like a poem, but it's not.
I've been riding my bike in the wilderness lately. It's a lot of fun. I'm trying to figure out how to get from Flagstaff, Arizona, to the Camp Raymond Boy Scout Camp on a bicycle. I really want to avoid driving on the Interstate 40, because riding a bike on the freeway is scary. Can you imagine all those giant trucks going past you at 75 mph? So I'm trying to take back roads, and it's crazy. I bought a map of Coconino National forest, which encompasses Flagstaff and the scout camp and a lot of the surrounding area. But I'm quickly finding out that no map could accurately represent all the new trails, dirt roads beside power lines, logging roads, private long driveways, and other types of mysterious dirt paths that are out there. Maybe if I had a Global Posistioning System (GPS) or a mobile web device so I could go to Google Maps and look at the sattelite imagery, or maybe if I had secret expensive military gadgets, I could really find my way around. But for now I'll settle with trial and error, my map, and a compass. It's adventurous going out there, riding around, taking in the scenery, etc. Flagstaff is a very bike-friendly city. There's tons of bike lanes on the roads and there's lots of paved bike paths around. I bought another map of all the hiking, biking, and horse-back riding trails around Flagstaff and have been having fun exploring those. And another beautiful thing about Flagstaff is all you have to do is ride your bike for 5 or 10 or 15 minutes and then it seems like you're in the middle of nowhere. You're surrounded by trees and hills, and besides the dirt path that you're on, there are no signs of civilization. I might like to live in Flagstaff for the rest of my life. At least I know that I'll be here for another two years while I go to graduate school at Northern Arizona University to get a master's degree in General English Studies. Then who knows what my wife and I will do. Get a job as a high school English teacher somewhere in Arizona, I suppose. Anyway, take care reader. Enjoy nature.
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2 comments:
Flagstaff is very pretty. Be careful in the woods >_<
but being close to nature is something most people don't do. I admire you.
We have totally opposite biking experiences. I ride in LA and my commute takes me through the urban jungle past the LA County coroner to Union Station in downtown. But the riding is fun. I like riding in traffic when I can pass up cars who are backed up at a red light.
It's funny, my wife worries about me riding in the city, and your wife probably worries about you riding in the woods. Is there anywhere we can ride and not be worried about?
The Boid
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