A path system is a great asset for any community. I’ve long been among those behind the efforts to add paths and connectivity to communities all over the land. Newnan area folks are gaining a wonderful thing as The LINC path system gets built.
Most of us live busy, demanding, over-scheduled lives. Though we were made to be on the move, to be moving under our own power, to be doing a variety of physical activity daily, most of us are obviously and admittedly sedentary. We sit to drive, we sit at work and at school, and we come home and sit in front of some kind of screen. Sitting has become the new smoking! Many of us sit and smoke! Our doctors, our loved ones, and that person in the mirror tells us we need to get moving and take care of ourselves.
The closer to you The LINC path system gets built, the closer to you will be the opportunity to get moving.
The LINC path system will eventually be an approximately 25-mile branching network, offering you multiple ways to get moving. 1.4 miles have been completed near the Newnan Centre and going under Lower Fayetteville Road. The next section is underway that will add an additional 3.4 miles, including a signature bridge over I-85 and into the Ashley Park area. You can run, walk, or ride a bike on The LINC path system. My wife and I have already enjoyed riding our bikes on the first section of The LINC, plus connecting to the path along Newnan Crossing Boulevard on the West Side and paths and streets in SummerGrove on the East side, for additional mileage and fun. The recent addition of a mountain bike trail alongside the initial section of The LINC offers an entertaining little ride for those of us who like to roll off-road.
Getting our exercise on paths can be an opportunity to work towards conditioning goals for local athletes. For the rest of us who aren’t competing but are just wanting to take care of ourselves, paths offer multiple benefits of which we should take advantage.
We need a combination of aerobic conditioning and strength training regularly. Paths offer that aerobic conditioning through walking, running or riding. Some of us take advantage of park benches, picnic tables, playground equipment, boulders, and outdoor workout centers where available to add in strength training and calisthenics. (I can show you how to do both!)
Those who do this regularly will find themselves feeling better, being stronger, increasing immunity, getting leaner, sleeping better, and reducing the effects of stress. Sound good?
But we should count the other benefits The LINC path system will offer us.
The forested and scenic sections of The LINC offer opportunity to commune with Nature. Watch for birds and other wildlife. Enjoy the changes of the seasons. Note the various flowers occurring naturally throughout the year. Maybe stop and smell a few. I do all those things when I’m riding or walking. I always go without listening devices in my ears—so I can hear the birds, and yes hear the people around me. Try it.
Path systems offer a more healthful way to get around, instead of everything by car. You can go places without cranking an engine. That may be new to you! You’ll find it fun. The businesses you visit will appreciate it. The smart ones will cater to The LINC travelers.
Connectivity is a wonderful result of path systems. Yes, connectivity ties the community together to all the places we like to go—stores, restaurants, parks, schools and endlessly more. Additionally, connectivity builds community among all of us. It’s like an endless town square. We can meet people everywhere we travel along the path. We can have an evening out on the path, a day along the path—including exercise, sightseeing, dining out, picnics, whatever. We can run errands on foot or bike. We can live a different and more vibrant way than the car culture of previous decades has allowed. Nearby path systems in Peachtree City, Carrollton’s Greenbelt, Atlanta’s Beltline, the Silver Comet rail trail from Smyrna to Cedartown, and Roswell/Alpharetta’s Big Creek Greenway have been proving all these benefits for sometime. I’ve enjoyed being on all of them. More path systems and rail trails are underway in places including LaGrange, Athens to Union Point, paths eventually connecting Alpharetta to the Silver Comet Trail, and a Rome to Silver Comet Trail connection is in the works as well. And there will be more.
Your LINC path system offers you a new way to live. Enjoy.
Jim Qualls recently started Jim Qualls Health & Fitness as a ACE-certified Personal Trainer and soon-to-be Health Coach, offering doable custom fitness and health programs for individuals, couples, and small groups wherever you need (parks, at home, and virtually). Contact Jim on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram or by phone at 678-283-8385.
