Biking and Blogging

I love to bike.

Living in NYC I know of great parks, bridges, restaurants, and other sites to see and experience. I visit a lot of these places while I bike because I can move alone, fast and spend as much or as little time as I wish at anyone place. My experience of biking is similar to blogging. 

At first, I would travel downtown via Riverside Drive, and up and down the West Side. 

Later, I challenged myself to bike over the Brooklyn Bridge and into parts of Brooklyn and Queens I never knew. 

On any Spring weekend, these spots can be daunting and rather hectic. On weekends, Central Park can be quite tricky maneuvering through the runners, bikers and tourists.

Blogging can be daunting and intimidating too. At first I thought, who is going to read what I have to say? Who cares enough to read my words and thoughts?  With all the news and websites and blogs out there, why would anyone stop by my page and take notice?  And if readers do happen to take notice, would my words be good enough? Do I have the skills to keep a reader's attention? to inspire? 

You can see how doubt and fear of the unknown can build and give you many reasons not to blog. In addition, I knew  nothing about creating a blog, title, images and settings. Then, something happened that happens to bikers and bloggers alike: growth. 

I learned that the more I bike (or blog), the stronger (wiser) I get. My leg muscles got used to climbing hills and pedaling non-stop for miles. Just the same, the more I wrote, the better the words and my posts. I realized that there was strength in brevity, in using a picture or image I created or took on my travels. 

Here's another thing I learned about biking and blogging: I am not in competition with anyone.  I do not wish to enter a race.  Some bikers pull up next to you and seek attention.  I ignore them and just keep pedaling.  There are many professional writers and bloggers out there.  I am not in competition with them. My aim is to reflect upon a personal experience.  When I publish, which is about once a month, I seek to share what I learned from an experience.  

When I bike, there are certain places that I frequent because they are my favorite locations to experience. 

Mamoun's in The Village is a great place to eat falafels. 103rd Street and Riverside Park has the "empanada lady" who makes one of the most delicious empanadas (cheese or meat) in the area. 

One of my favorite bridges to cross is the Triboro from the Queens side onto Randall's Island.  Sure there are some steps and the climb is a bit steep at first but the last stretch is all downhill.  It looks like the cockpit of the Millennium Falcon.  

There are thousands of blogs out there.  One that stands out for me has to be by George Couros.  Not only are his posts filled with ideas, videos, or pictures like many others. Couros shares his thinking and learning on his posts with everyone. He also invites you to constantly share and help him learn.

Biking is a lot like blogging. If you are not comfortable on the bike, you will not travel far and will not enjoy the ride. If blogging seems like work or obligatory, then it will simply be words for naught. 

I bike because I love to bike. Its my time to reflect, pray, and get some exercise too. I blog because it helps me write, share and connect with others. 

Maybe biking is not your thing.  Whatever it is that you do, you probably do it with passion and love.  Let that passion and love spill over to blogging and you may surprise yourself.