Earlier this week, two maps that I had ordered from the New York State Department of Transportation arrived in my mailbox: Long Island Biking Map and New York State Biking Route 9 Map, joining my walls that already felt inundated with 6 other maps. Now, I have barely been able to complete a Coney Island round-trip in an afternoon. With so many parts of the actual New York City (mainly Queens) yet to be traveled through, I really have no immediate plans of any excursions towards Montauk or Rouses Point. But maps aren't just meant for going on adventures. Maps are direct ways to understand and connect with the surroundings.
When I am asked why I like biking, I usually give the straightforward reasons of exercise, monetary savings, and the ability to claim credits for an adventure. Adventure is simply a way to experience the understanding of the surrounding place. While motorized vehicles certain facilitate traveling, doing so without the external assistance makes the journey feel all the more relatable. That is, it allows for a better connection with the routes and the places. After all, how can I not associate Music Street just east of OH-306 as the place where I was stranded after my bike tire popped? And by planning and going on the actual routes, it sure helps to understand the area.
And maps help fill in where direct adventures aren't possible. Even if there isn't the actual travel, there can be the passive observation and understanding: the knowledge that NY Biking Route 27 leads to the Montauk Lighthouse at the eastern tip of Long Island, or that Route 9 travels along the Hudson Valley all the way up to the Canadian border. One day, it may be directly useful. But even if not, it's just a way to appreciate the capabilities and possibilities out there.
Understanding geography and locations are much simpler than understanding the current events. In the words of the 10-year-old myself while traveling down to Florida from Ohio, "I just wanted to get out and take a step [on Virginia] to know that I was indeed there!" Direct experience makes it so much more realistic. In the absence of it, maps bridge the gap to bring the understanding of the surrounding in a more direct way. Understanding the outside surroundings is a key to engage in and be part of where one is. That's why I usually leave AM 1130 Bloomberg Radio (or WTAM 1100 back in Cleveland) on. While the radio dynamically feeds in information, the 8 maps saturating the wall of my dormitory room help to illustrate where everything stands. That order in itself is a source in its own.
