In listening to a
Science Friday podcast about making resolutions, I learned that 40-50 percent of the population makes resolutions this time of year and a high percentage of those people actually accomplish them. There is something about saying our resolutions loud -- or sharing them with social media outlets -- that can help make them happen, so we took the liberty of asking cyclists via
Facebook, email, and
Twitter, to share with us some of their bicycle-travel resolutions.
The resolutions we received ranged from bicycling to work, to riding across a country, to trying out a
bike overnight. Here's a sampling of those responses:
John M. said, "In 2013, I vow to shop by bike at least once each month. That's not as woosy as it sounds; I live on a hill in upstate New York, miles from anywhere, and winter cycling can be intimidating!"
Jeff B. posted a wide ranging list, "Do my first bike overnight on The Wabash Trace: Omaha/Council Bluffs to Blanchard, Missouri, and back, carve out a week for the Katy Trail in Missouri, do the Lincoln Gravel Grinder, and ride to work more."
Christian Schuler from Switzerland has a more focused goal: "I am just five months and a couple of days away from making my dream a reality. I will ride the Great Divide, which is a long and a very mentally-tough race, but also a lot of great adventure. I hope to make new biking buddies and see some beautiful mountain ranges!"
Christian won't be alone out there on the
Great Divide Mountain Bike Route, Gunther (
@guntherds) will be joining him, racing the Tour Divide with two other Belgian buddies.
It seems a lot of bicycle-travel resolutions will be accomplished in Europe and Asia this year:
Ken (
@reobedk): "We'll be touring western Ireland, credit-card style on a tandem for two weeks in early summer."
Lou (
@louakers) responded with: "Cycling London to Paris!"
Spanish Pirate (
@SpanishPirate1) will be managing a few goals, "Planning London to Lecco, Italy, in August, camping, self-catering, oh, and some wine tasting."
Overland from Japan (
@bybikebytrain) will see "Hokkaido this summer, Honshu coast to coast in spring, and several light-touring weekenders in Fukushima, too."
And my favorite of the batch, Anna (
@Thebigfive_o) is going for a big one, she's taking a bite out of the U.S. by "spending six months cycling through all 50 states with eyes wide open and a GIGANTIC grin on my face."
For myself, I intend to participate in an Adventure Cycling Tour for my bike respite. The Great Lakes tours are a draw, so I might head out on either the
Great Lakes Inn-to-Inn or the
Great Lakes Relaxed. Or there is the classic
C&O Canal/GAP fully-supported tour. (I'd better decide soon though, slots have filled fast this year!)
I am also going to take my new
Yuba Boda Boda through her cargo-cruiser paces and commute to work every day in May to kick off the cycling season.
What bicycle-travel goals have you set for 2013?
Photo courtesy of @guntherds and ex.18:18.--
GEOPOINTS BULLETIN is written by Jennifer 'Jenn' Milyko, an Adventure Cycling cartographer, and appears weekly, highlighting curious facts, figures, and persons from the
Adventure Cycling Route Network with tips and hints for personal route creation thrown in for good measure. She also wants to remind you that map corrections and comments are always welcome via the
online Map Correction Form.
Source: http://blog.adventurecycling.org/2013/01/2013-bicycle-resolutions.html
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