1245.8 Miles In, I’ve Finished the Bs

Well, friends, welcome to my most inefficient, most adventurous local exploration project ever. 

Most people who know me well know that I have been joyfully riding my e-bike as often as possible, but I haven’t told many people how I am choosing to go about that.

Years ago, I read this article about a man who rode his bike on every street in my city. He took pleasure and plotting out the most efficient way to make that happen.

I have decided to make this project next level in dedication (though also inefficiency) and ride my bike TO every street in in my city. So I’ve been riding from my house to streets in alphabetical order. As of last night, 1245.8 miles in, I’ve completed the numbers, the As, and the Bs.

Obviously, this is going be in absurdly long project, if I’m even able to finish it. Why do it this way? I am greatly enjoying the ordered spontaneity. I like that I am working my way down a list in a long term project, and each day, I get to ask, “Where am I headed today?” as if an adventure has been selected for me, and I get to discover the beautiful details along the way.

I am also a person who always has difficulty thinking spatially, so exploring this way has allowed me to learn in very new-to-me ways how spaces and neighborhoods are connected. That’s been a fun discovery too, and now, in a way that wasn’t true before, I can use the GPS much less.

The main thing to say is, I’m having fun. And to my local friends, I’ll be down your street… sometime. 

— Renee Roederer