The Cyclist Sets Out

As I launch "The Cyclist," I am acutely aware that the world has little need for another blog.  At the same time, though, I recognize in myself the motivation that has led bloggers, and other periodical writers before them, to burden the world with their scribbling: I feel that I have something to say, and I want to create for myself a place to say it.

In giving this blog the title "The Cyclist," I do not mean to confine myself to the discussion of cycling, even though this is an important part of who I am and what I do.  Rather, I wish to borrow the ambulatory  metaphor that Samuel Johnson used in the series of essays that he wrote in the 18th century under the titles The Rambler, The Adventurer, and The Idler.  These were not essays about walking, but, rather, walking was the fictional premise for the essays.  In the course of his essays, he took up topics that he might think about on a long walk.  Memorable essays dealt the state of fiction during his day, the purpose of poetry, and what it means to grow old.

By the same token, then, I aim to take up in these essays the things I might think about on a long bike ride.    If you read very far into this blog, you will learn that I am a randonneur, and go on some very long bike rides.  And, while I do not claim to be as learned or as imaginative as Samuel Johnson, who was universally known "Dr. Johnson" even though he lacked a college degree, I do hope to be able to take up a wide range of topics in the course of my rides.

Without further introduction or delay, then, I start my ride.