This newspaper has always reported the variety of Vineyard life and its natural beauty, and I’d expect people to flock here because of it. And yet, Kate Taylor’s Beautiful Road notwithstanding, it seems that more and more visitors choose to take their pleasure on the pavement, on bikes, skates or in sneakers. Now I get it that those brave little parks dividing Manhattan from the Hudson, or Boston from the harbor provide bikers and joggers escape from city life; but aren’t our pretty Vineyard roads exactly the opposite? Here, the road is about the only place you can find carbon monoxide or diesel fumes, get honked at, or get hit by a car or truck while checking your heart rate. Just like mid-town Manhattan!

So, dear reader, I suggest to you that a swimming beach, bike path, arboretum or wildlife refuge, kayak or clam rake, fly rod or pickup softball game are what you need. The road is how you got here, not your destination. Stay off it as much as you can and your heart rate will take care of itself.

Allen Razdow
Aquinnah