“Traveling at high speeds causes you to miss things, or to assign things more or less importance in your mental model of a place than they may really have. One of the best ways to deeply understand the place you live is, thus, to slow down. Way down.”
Take a walk or a leisurely bike ride for no particular reason, for exercise or for an errand. It’s a fantastic way to get to know people and neighborhoods in your city. Asbury Park is easily walkable in terms of distance to any destination, at only 1.4 m square.
Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition hosts regular Community Bike Rides – slow ambles through various parts of the city, sometimes picking other riders up along the way. It’s a great way to get to know new people and other neighborhoods, to see things all around town that we may not have known about. We’ve talked to The Asbury Park Historical Assoc. about walking tours too. Our streets are becoming safer and more accommodating to people walking and people on bikes, so take a walk or a ride and explore a part of the city you may not have known!
See Your City Differently by Slowing Down
“One of the simplest ways to engage with your community is to physically get out in it. When you walk or bike, the slower pace allows you to notice details you’ve never seen before. Not only that, you will hear, smell and feel the environment in a way that’s impossible to experience from inside an automobile.
I’m always amazed how many total strangers speak to me when I’m walking or biking. They ask for directions, make surprising observations, or just say howdy. Cars create barriers between people. Active transportation eliminates them. When we’re not surrounded by glass and steel, people can see our faces and we become recognizably human. Sharing a smile, which happens a lot more often when you’re on foot or bike, reminds us of this fact.”
Walking tours in Montreal.
A group of friends from all over Asbury Park on a Community Ride in Spring 2018. Bikes, and even pedal surreys are all lit up!
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