If you look at it on a geologic timescale, it’s almost like we are this flimsy presence, and we really have to stick together as a human family to make sure we are a permanent presence on this planet and not just this blink of an eye.  –Samantha Cristoforetti, Astronaut, In Nat Geo

In March’s issue of National Geographic magazine, Canadian spacefarer Chris Hadfield says that while orbiting Earth, he felt more connected to the people on the planet than ever before.  I probably will not get to orbit earth, but I do feel that way when I pedal my bicycle.  One of life’s paradoxes, cycling is a kind of letting go and getting better connected, all at the same time.

I see beautiful scenes around Albuquerque from the seat of my bicycle.  After over three years pedaling here–over forty thousand miles of cycling–I am still seeing new things, like these murals in the images above that I spotted for the first time yesterday on Edith Road.  I would advise anyone who loves to bicycle that this is an amazing landscape and community to ride in.

We have nature, we have culture, joined in one place.  You can experience it with a bicycle.  It is hard to beat cycling for bringing out the beauty of a place and the people that inhabit it.