Originally Posted by
berner
There are many of those quiet little roads in this area of coastal Rhode Island and Southern, coastal Mass between Plymouth, Mass and Providence. state roads can be busy but county and town roads are very quiet and the people who drive them are considerate.
Mostly the roads are in very good condition. It is also very flat here which may be good or bad depending. I usually reroute to get some hill work in but I've not found anything more than about 8% and one mile long.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
Enjoying a nice little back road.…
I have posted,
I recall Ann Arbor as a great place to cycle, though admittedly I do not recall any specific “enchanted roads”;
(?) maybe Barton Drive.
Besides cycling around town, favorite rides were…Thanks for the opportunity to reminisce.
Originally Posted by
berner
Nice post Jim-From-Boston. As a card carrying old guy, I like a good tour into memory lane.
Thanks for that nice reply, @
berner. I have noted for years that you post from Rhode Island. My only excursions into RI were from the Mass. State line to Cumberland and back; and a ride to Newport via New Bedford, MA; both on pretty well traveled main roads.
Nonetheless I have heard nice things about that East Bay Bike Path out of Providence, and the local cycling on the seacoast around Little Compton.
FYA, I have in the recent past quoted you on a few occasions regarding
safety:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
I liked these posts by @berner (also from the Northeast Megalopolis) about the fundamental use of mirrors, furthermore of the safety mindset I employ:
Originally Posted by
berner
I'm a firm believer that experience is the best teacher and it does not have to be your own experience. Just as much can be learned from evaluating how others may have screwed up.
With this in mind, learning of the misadventures of others, as in A&S, can be valuable provided we really pay attention.
Now really paying attention is a large category. Part of it is not only being visible but how our visibility changes depending on clothing worn and shade...
Originally Posted by
berner
Anticipating is one thing to work on to improve our safety but the act of paying attention is equally important…
I believe I know how to keep myself safe, or safer, on a bike but I don't know how that might be taught. Being hyper alert is not a characteristic we are born with. It is a characteristic to work on improving.
conguent with my post earlier:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
…I was hit from behind by a “distracted” (? inebriated) hit and run driver on an otherwise seemingly safe and peaceful route. By good fortune, I’m alive and relatively unimpaired.
Over the past few months I have come to realize that my safety aphorisms, collected over the years by personal or vicarious experience, are my way of actively aligning the stars in my favor, to anticipate those unseen and otherwise unanticipated dangers.
So even a “nice little back road" requires vigilance. 
More recently, on a slightly more cheerful note,
Originally Posted by
berner
Live to 100 or more?
I'm not convinced I want to live that long although my grandmother and great-grandmother did.
Originally Posted by
Lucillle
I think you should live one day at a time. Enjoy today.
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
”
Ever contemplate your mortality on the road?”
Actually, in one of my most serious contemplations of mortality, the Road served as a relief:
Originally Posted by
Jim from Boston
My magic moment when I realized what makes cycling fun (important) to me was at a lunch with two doctors about 20 years ago. :
We got to talking about the vicissitudes of life, like sudden death, or trivial symptoms as harbingers of a serious disease. We eventually came around to that old chestnut to live life to the fullest everyday.
As we were leaving, the surgeon, a marathon runner, said, “Well, any day with a run in it is a good day for me.” I was already an avid cyclist and cycle commuter, and that clicked with me, any day with a ride in it is a good day for me.