By Peter Burns

Winter Riding

My yoga teacher recently mentioned embracing winter.  While that may be going a little bit too far, there are some advantages to riding in the winter.  There are fewer bike riders and pedestrians when it gets cold and snowy.  That means I have fewer obstacles to contend with on my rides to and from Burlington on the  Riverside Avenue bike/pedestrian path.  We will set aside, for now, the irony that I teach winter bike riding workshops which are designed to get more people out on the road in the cold. Also, even though there are many more winter riders than there were ten years ago, I still get comments about how tough I must be to ride through the cold and snow.  There is also the unearthly beauty that, from time to time, manifests itself during the winter.  Ice and snow and afternoon sunlight combine to create a paradisiacal scene.   Last but not least, if your ride through the winter you will be in shape for longer rides when it gets warmer and bike riding is actually enjoyable again!

By Peter Burns

My Walks

I mostly walk-in Winooski or Burlington.  For personal reasons I hardly ever travel, so I am a local walker.  In Winooski, I sometimes walk for exercise.  I do a circular route that includes the  Winooski schoolyard and also a graveyard on Weaver Street.  This route takes about an hour.  Last spring as I walked, I noticed where the blackberries were blooming.  My plan was to return to those places in the summer when the blackberries were ripe, but I didn’t time it quite right and missed the best of the blackberries.

By Peter Burns

Photographs 

I bought my phone because it has a good camera and I wanted to record my adventures in the Vermont countryside.  Bike riding is about momentum and every once in awhile I see something I think would make a good photograph, but I don’t stop, because the ride is more important than the images I bring home. 

By Peter Burns

Local Motion is an advocacy organization for cyclists, but also supports pedestrians. I am passionate about bike riding, and also about walking. This month I will write about walking, and in November I will return to bike riding.  I will continue this pattern for the foreseeable future.

By Peter Burns

Repetition and Difference

Most mornings I ride into Burlington, either to go to the YMCA or to work.  With slight variations, my daily route is the same but each time I ride, there are differences.  The weather shifts from day to day, my mood is different and as the seasons flow one into the other, the flora and fauna change as does my outerwear.

By Peter Burns

Mental Maps

I can trace most of the main roads in Chittenden County in my mind.  Sometimes in the winter, I like to remember the rides I took in the summer, retracing them in my mind.  As I leave Chittenden County the mental map starts to fade out.  When I am planning a local recreational ride, my mind automatically explores a few different routes, along with the possible road conditions. Traffic and wind direction also important.  I want to avoid busy roads, especially during rush hour.  If the wind is blowing at more than ten miles per hour, I ride into the wind on the way out, and with the wind on my way home. Sometimes I change my route during the ride. In the evening of  June 17th, I was riding back toward Winooski on Middle Road in Colchester.  My original plan was to take a right on Route 2A and head home by way of Mallets Bay Avenue.  But I was low as on water and wanted to use the facilities so instead, I took a left on 2A and went to the Burnham Library for a break. Because I have a clear mental map of the area, it was easy enough to figure out the way home from the library.

By Peter Burns

It is possible to write an autobiography focused on any number of subjects. While it would not be appropriate for this blog, I could write my storytelling autobiography, my reading autobiography or my work autobiography. We all live multiple lives. Here is my bicycle autobiography. 

By Peter Burns

Number 1

Finding a place to urinate can be a challenge.  I don't like to stop within sight of a house, and it is nice to have a place to lean my bike.  On most rural Vermont roads it is possible to get out of sight fairly quickly, behind trees and bushes.  It is easier when there are leaves on the trees and bushes.  

By Peter Burns

A couple of months ago I was in the locker room at the YMCA when a friend asked me about bike injuries.  I said, "Sometimes my wrists hurt and once in a while I get a sore knee or back, but I don't have any chronic problems because of bike riding. Even on a steep hill it is possible to go slowly and stay relaxed if you find the right gear and use the correct cadence."  My friend said, "That is a good life lesson."  Here are two more life lessons drawn from my bike riding experiences.

By Peter Burns

Maps 

I can use the map apps on my phone, but I prefer paper maps.  In an unfamiliar place, the phone maps are  difficult to follow.  They give a micro view of where you are, but not the bigger picture.  When you zoom out, street names disappear.  Last summer when I ventured across the lake to ride south to Port Henry and then took the ferry back to Charlotte, I almost got lost. I used my phone and maps copied from a New York State Atlas, but I would have preferred a regional map. Sometimes I can tell where I am but I am not sure if I am heading in the right direction.  There is also the option of mapping out a route using one of the map apps and then printing it out.  I first learned to use maps in England, when I was walking through the countryside. I used Ordinance Survey maps which are beautifully designed. Perhaps I inherited a bit of map reading ability from my father.  He was a flight navigator for B-52 airplanes, although he was never involved in any actual bombing runs.