Normally, I'm a very upbeat guy; however, fighting the challenges created by Hurricane Katrina had been wearing me down (to understand what I was going through, read USA TODAY'S "Voices of Katrina"). When I get blue, I go bicycling.

Since the double whammy of getting married & Hurricane Katrina, I've been bicycling as much as "circumstances" will allow - roughly 7-14 miles every 3rd day. While this is far less than the 28-35 miles I rode every other day before I got hitched, the reasons for the decreased mileage are more a function of increased responsibilities (see the photo above).

Time that I would have spent cycling was diverted to "more pressing" tasks. I got more done but also became edgy & irritable. Not liking what I saw, I realized that a radical change was required. In March, I committed to a huge project that's close to my heart and suits me well: 45 Great Places To Go Bicycling In North America.

The 45 Places project kicked off in earnest last month with rides in Tennessee on the Mississippi River Trail and in North Carolina on the dirt & slickrock trails of Dupont State Park. I've also just returned from a blockbuster trip in which I rode on Glacier National Park's Going to the Sun Highway as well as 3 incredibly awesome trails in the Pacific Northwest (Spokane Centennial, Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes and the Route of the Hiawathas). Had health complications and weather allowed it, I would have rode in Chicago too.

The 45 Places project entails a variety of exciting challenges. Already, I have a lot of useful & uplifting info to share with you. In fact, I'm working now on a variety of stories from the project that will appear in newspapers and magazines across the country. Meanwhile, you can expect to see more of the day to day details of the project here, including trip photos and so much more.

Thanks for your interest and to all the wonderful people that have helped make this project a reality.

Larry