Month: October 2020

World Wide Web Wednesday – Volume 10

Today’s World Wide Web Wednesday link is…

https://www.railstotrails.org/ – The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy

This past spring, I took up bicycling after a twenty-plus year hiatus. It feels like having an old friend in my life. I

n my teenage years, I rode my Huffy ten-speed for miles to go to work or summer sports conditioning or just to get out of the house. In college, I rode my bike for miles just to get away from life in the apartment. I likely would have continued into adulthood, but a few things got in the way. First, a bad bike wreck caused by the fact my bike was improperly fitted and poorly-tuned made me a little fun shy. Second, I got a job and free time seemed to evaporate. Third, I moved somewhere bike riding just wasn’t possible. The final blow was having kids.

Desperately needing to stop the downward spiral of my physical body and finding that life circumstances had improved, I decided to renew my acquaintance with biking. I visited a local bike shop who set me up properly and sent me on my way. I wasn’t alone in my desires. Ms. Boss also bought herself a bike and soon displayed even more passion for the pastime than I did. We were both racking up the miles, but where to ride? That’s where the Rails to Trails Conservancy comes in.

Rails to Trails Conservancy’s mission ‘is to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines, connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.’ I’m certainly looking to be healthy, which aligns with their mission. Ms. Boss and I have ridden on several of the lines listed on the website and thoroughly enjoyed them (as an aside, it doesn’t hurt that railroads are relatively flat which is good for an old man like me). There is, however, something else at work here as well.

My father loved trains. He grew up in a railroad town and his fascination never stopped – model railroading, taking pictures of the real thing, even tracing the routes of abandoned railroads – my life growing up was filled with trains. While I have not had as fervent of a love as he did, something involving trains does touch a soft spot in my heart. I think about him every time I ride one.

Rail to Trails – something that’s not only good for my heart, but dear to my heart.