How did you get into cycling (part 2)

After climbing down from the bike during my undergraduate years, I don't believe I came anywhere near one until a few semesters into my graduate career.  Honestly, I'm not even sure I owned a bike during that time.  I would call those my "lean" years, but I'm afraid that would lead to a misleading perception of my body mass at the time.  I was by no means overweight, or even heavy, but instead maintained a slender (but soft) physique.  Definitely not a chiseled "super"man, but not overly buoyant either.

Kind of like this guy

I didn't have a whole lot of interest in fitness, as I was more focused on my future as a teacher.  I was gaining valuable experience working with a teen youth group and was motivated by little else.  While attending a small Catholic college in the Ohio River valley for graduate school, a few life events inspired me to get back on the bike.
A) I got married
B) We had a baby

I was pretty certain we were going to have to make some financial adjustments, as my part-time custodial work on campus wasn't going to support a family of three.  So, I made the decision to seek out an alternate method of transportation that could save us a couple of bucks.  Our apartment was about 6 miles from work and school, and the idea of riding a bike was actually suggested by my on-campus work supervisor.  He was an avid cyclist, and I think he was actually looking for a cycling buddy and he wanted me on board.

I called up my dad to ask if he knew of anyone who was getting rid of a bike, but (of course) he was and offered to send it to me right away!  Free bike!  I can't say enough how grateful I am for his generosity...this must've been summer of '06, so the bike was about 11 years old and he was ready to replace it with a newer model.  I couldn't wait for my "new" bike to arrive.  The scent of sweet freedom followed in the wake of every UPS truck, as I knew that energy independence was just on the horizon.  I ended up having to go pick up the bike myself, as the UPS truck always came at a bad time.  No worries!  I was just excited to embark on a journey to I know not where, to take a road leading to an unknown destination.  Unbeknownst to my younger self, but knownst to me (and you) now, the RoadRiseUp project had begun!!

One thing I learned about during those two years that I commuted that 12 mile round trip is the Rails to Trails Conservancy.  Rails to Trails is a non-profit based in Washington DC whose main goal is converting unused railway infrastructure into cycling, walking and running trails.  The organization claims to have converted 20,000+ miles of rail-trail all across the US.  Just outside of the town where I was in grad school was an 11-mile strip of rail-trail, smoothly paved and perfect for cycling.  It's a great initiative that also created the Tammany Trace in Mandeville, LA, 28 beautiful miles of rail trail just one hour away from Baton Rouge and 45 minutes from New Orleans.

Once I finished my time at grad school, our little family moved back to New Orleans (our hometown), where I found a completely new reason to commute to and from work...