Life in the Bike Lane.
Biking to work feels like a luxury for me.
I bought a gently used Dutch Gazelle Medeo e-bike off Facebook Marketplace this summer because I wanted to learn more about them, and got the full kit. I even made a biker-chic friend in the deal. (Hi, Gillian.)
I get to work on a university campus because I love students and learning and Deaf culture, and knowing this week is Week Without Cars, I’ve been planning. I also have a few more bikes in the garage, including my beloved Trek 520, who I think is mad at me.
This morning started with some baloney technical difficulties. New phone. Pairing it to the bike. Software update. Ugh.
But once I was rolling: the awe. A big ol’ doe in the neighborhood. Cute. Menace. Reason I cannot have the kimchi garden of my dreams. Still magical.
AND THERE IS A NEW SIDEWALK ON TOBEY THAT MADE IT SAFER FOR ME TO RIDE TO WORK. So naturally, as your local elected official, I rode my bicycle on it. Apparently the lawful choice was for me to ride in the road with everyone running off to work through construction, with traffic cones narrowing everything down. As soon as there was enough room for me to safely ride - I was back on the road. (NYS law generally allows a bicycle on a sidewalk, while stating that pedestrians have right of way, and cyclists should yield.)
But sure. Sidewalk: forbidden.
I used my little joyful bell to warn people from a civilized distance, slowed WAY down for the gentleman running on it, said good morning, and passed carefully. Radical behavior, I know.
Eyeballs. Brakes. Bell. Manners. Like a good neighbor.
Then I blazed past all the vehicles queued up at the light, which remains one of the great petty joys of bicycle commuting. Bwahahaha.
Then the light, the sun, the colors, the leaves, the canal.
A woman smiled at me. Three runners went by. I caught up with one of my fellow bike commuters rolling onto campus and trolled him a little, because we do that. We play tag. Am I the rabbit? Is he? Do I let him catch me? I have an e-bike. He was on an acoustic. I let him have the glory. Then we catch up at an intersection and TALK and get to know each other and tease each other. WHEN HAVE YOU DONE THAT IN YOUR CAR? And somewhere along the way, my migraine went away.
I stopped thinking about the news for a little while. And the traumatic horrors. And all the other crap taking up space in my brain. By the time I got to the office, my brain felt better. That may be my favorite thing about biking. You notice things. You notice people. You notice what makes a street safer. You play. You breathe. And you and the world are better for it.
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