Walking is so different than riding
I made an abrupt switch from riding every day to walking every day. A smashed elbow and surgery took me off the bike. Just as when I broke my neck, daily walks became the only workout option possible.
Here are the differences:
1. Speed: The speed of the bike and walking is so different. Today, I turned onto Harrisburg Pike. A man 50 feet in front of me was carrying a backpack on one shoulder and a black trash bag on the other shoulder. As we neared Charlotte Street, he started dragging the trash bag. He turned the corner and stopped in the shade. I live a couple of blocks away. I walked home and got a big roller suitcase that we were going to get rid of. I wheeled it back and offered it to the guy who was sitting in the shade eating. He said thanks and I continued my walk.
If I were riding, I would have passed him while riding on a busy road and kept going. I would have gone by fast enough that I may not have noticed him and would not have thought what I could do to help.
At walking speed, I see people for minutes, not seconds, so I can think.
2. Talking: I can also talk. I can call friends and family and make other calls because I am only going three miles per hour. I can't talk on a phone on a bicycle. I can also talk to someone I am walking with. It is possible to talk on a bike, but never much deeper than a cookie sheet. Riders always have to be alert for hazards and traffic.
3. Space-Time: In Pennsylvania the rolling hills usually allow a rider to see a half-mile to a mile ahead. The thing that comes into view a mile away is three to four minutes away depending on how fast I am riding. When I see a mile ahead to a hill crest or a bridge when I am walking, it will be 20 minutes until I pass that spot. When I walk to a place three miles away I need an hour. The world looks much bigger walking.
4. Other Walkers vs. Other Riders: Bike riders wave or nod their heads when they pass each other as a rule. There is a fellowship of those who ride in traffic. It was the same when I rode motorcycles. Although in the 1970s, Harley riders did not wave at riders on Japanese-made bikes we riders of the reliable bikes waved at each other. But walkers only acknowledge each other if they recognize each other or are close together, like passing on the same sidewalk. No one nods or waves across a road.
5. In Lancaster Walking Stops at the City Line: I have walked outside of the city to the north and west. When I leave the city limits, I am the only walker. In six weeks I have not passed another person walking on a road. I mostly walk on major roads, so there are surely people walking somewhere outside the city, but I don't see them.
6. I Understand Why Some People Hate Bicyclists: I do not see walkers outside the city, but I see bicyclists everywhere. I see people who seem to know how to ride who are riding on sidewalks. There is no reason for a bicycle to be on a sidewalk.
7. I Can Think When I Walk: On a bicycle speed and traffic make thinking as shallow as talking. I sometimes have an idea come into my mind, but then it floats away. Walking on a sidewalk or the shoulder of a road, I can actually think for a reasonable amount of time. It's much better than swimming in that way. Swimming is also slow, but I had to make the turns at each end of the pool.
8. I Do Not Compete with Other Walkers: Sometimes when I see other riders ahead of me, especially on a hill (up or down) I will try to catch them and feel a rush as I catch up to them even if they are not trying to go fast. I don't ever compete with other walkers. I am moving so slowly that competition does not occur to me.
And the similarity:
I Can Be Obsessed with Any Activity. In 2007, I walked three miles every day, sometimes a little more, but not much. This time walking has become a very slow sport. Since the day I walked home from the hospital six weeks ago, I have been walking more each week: 43 miles the first week, then 52, 64, 73, 81 and this week 91 miles.
