Originally Posted by Stucky

I've been a walker all of my life. And in my opinion, there's nothing more enjoyable than taking a nice long walk, especially at night...and especially with a dog!

When I lived in the city, walking served as a way to truly see my environment; as a way to find comfort and solitude and time to think and ponder; as exercise; transportation- it was a huge part of my life. Not to mention parks and trips to the "country" where I'd walk and explore. Walking gives one a unique perspective, and a way to truly see the details and experience the landscape.

When I lived in the 'burbs, I'd take long walks at night with my dog, through the quiet suburban streets. It was true bliss and freedom!

Ironically, when I moved to the country a dozen years ago, I largely stopped walking, as the long distances with little in the way of interest or scenery change can be quite boring at such a slow speed. For the first time in my life, I started gaining weight! I still do take walks on my own property- just going out and sauntering for an hour once in a while- usually at night- but after half a century of walking, it was getting a little boring to do too often- which is actually one of the reasons I took up cycling.

The feeling of speed on the bike; and the ability to cover significant distances and see much scenery; and to be able to somewhat disconnected from the environment; but yet toi be able to fully experience it, while getting some serious exercise [I think I'm in better shape now after 3 years of cycling, than I've ever been in, in my entire life] makes cycling a real joy and benefit in every way.

But I still love to walk- only now that I cycle too, I don't "have to" walk; I can save walking for when I really feel like it- and then really enjoy it.

I tend to walk more in the winter these days- because in the summer I ride more often. For the last few weeks, in the dead of winter, the weather has been too crappy to do much cycling [I only rode 38 miles last week!]- so instead, I'll go for walks. It's a nice change.

It's funny- I can think back to virtually any period of my life, and think of the walks I used to take; where I'd go; what I was thinking; even remembering specific walks. If I had tracked the miles I've walked through my life...I bet I'd be shocked to see how much distance I've covered- but I can't be bothered doing that- although I'd estimate, these days, I'm probably only walking about 500 miles per year. In the past, I'm sure I'd log several thousand miles per year.

I consider it a gift to have grown-up in a car-free home. We walked everywhere, since the time i was a baby.