Why I stopped writing things on the beat bike blog

I don't know if anyone still reads the beat bike blog, but if they do and read it awhile ago, they may recall that I used to write things here about riding my bike. Then, with little fanfare, I stopped. It's not because I stopped riding my bike, but I moved out of Hartford. My wife and I wanted to buy a house. We looked in Hartford and looked around Hartford, too. There was a nice house on Warrenton, but someone bought it very quickly. Most of the other houses in Hartford that we liked were either falling down or way too expensive. Eventually, we found a little old house in Tariffville right on the gorge. It's very pretty. We could afford it, so here we are.

It was a little weird moving out of Hartford, but we're not so far away that we can't go there as often as we please and I suppose that I still work there, too. It's a 13 mile ride to Hartford, which takes a little more commitment than 2.5 did, but it's not so bad as long it's not inclement weather. Riding recreationally is nice because we're where the nice roads start and we're in between Penwood and Cowles Park. Johanna lives closer to work, so she can start riding her bike there. We're about 3 miles from grocery stores and commerce (though very close to a bar, two restaurants, a barber shop and a liquor store), so errands by bike is no problem. The Geissler's grocery store in Granby even has a bike rack out front. 

Simsbury is supposed to be the most bicycle friendly town in Connecticut. It has sharrows and a bike path, and the drivers are nicer than they are in Avon. Although, since we live on the edge of town, most people driving don't live here and are sort of jerks-- especially the people driving back to Massachusetts. I haven't seen any more people riding their bikes here, but I'm doubtful that very many people ride them for utilitarian purposes around here. I don't think friendliness really contributes to mode share. Connecticut is just not a place where riding a bike is something you do in seriousness if you can help it.  

So, it being called the "beat bike blog" and the "beat" refers to Hartford, I stopped writing because I don't live there anymore. I still live close, though, so come visit me.