A New Leaf

Greetings and Happy New Year!

I don't do "New Year's Resolutions" as such but there's no denying that the slower pace and longer nights do seem to create the right atmosphere for reflections and ruminations. 

The blog has been one of the areas I've been contemplating.  Somehow over the past year or so, I began to see this is a growing collection of articles. While I wish I had the brainpower and turn of phrase to produce beautifully constructed essays with illuminating insights into life, the human condition and the future of civilisation -- even if only insofar as cycling infrastructure is concerned -- then, failing that, I seem to have set myself a mission to write 'definitive' product reviews and drool-worthy ride reports. 

I am not succeeding in this mission. And it strikes me that I have taken my eyes off the ball. All I ever really wanted was to express myself, to share my experiences and occasional Eureka moments in my own individual way. That's what the "voice" in Velovoice was supposed to be all about. 

With that realisation comes a new resolve. Out goes that ever-growing, languishing list of articles* to write. Torn up is the list of products I intended to review.

In comes -- well, perhaps various musings that are a little more personal, a little more vulnerable, with no definite conclusions or endings. I may post "micro posts" and occasional re-blogs of items I read elsewhere that I find intriguing or thought-provoking. All with some obvious connection with cycling, even if only because cycling could be an integral part of proposals and solutions directed at problems like climate change, pollution levels, illnesses with connections to serious health conditions. 

One of the things I will need to consciously "let go of" is my need to research everything thoroughly. The high standard I put on myself in that regard is the only reason I have consciously avoided being "political" on this blog, i.e. talking about cycle advocacy, active travel campaigns, "liveable cities" movements and the like. 

But these things are a part of my daily life, even if mostly in very small ways. So I'll share what I see and what I think, and I'll try to post links and suggestions for "further reading" so that you can get the views of others, who may see things from different angles and write more eloquently about how small changes fit into bigger trends and ponder where we want to go from here and what is needed to get there. 

Let's see where this goes. I hope at least to trigger some new conversations, where you feel inspired to share your own thoughts and experiences with me and other readers. 

Meanwhile, I hope winter is treating you kindly and that you are enjoying riding your bicycle! 

* I do hope to finish and post my write-ups on our cycling tour in France, Belgium and the Netherlands last September, especially for Suze if for no one else!