Cycling Through My Emotions

 

It has taken a COVID-induced shift from never biking to biking all the time to reveal that I have such a love-hate relationship with the activity.  There are days it takes me back to a more innocent time, when I hadn't a care in the world and it felt so good - physically and emotionally - to feel the wind in my face and get excited that I was going somewhere.  And then there are other days when it is such a slog: when it's cold and windy out, when it's rush hour and I have dodge cars and potholes and snow piles, or when I hit a slight incline that feels like an impossible uphill because I'm gassed from the heaviness of life.

 

 

But on net I'm happy with this unexpected development in my life, from getting around mostly by transit or foot to finding that much of my life can be reached on two wheels, whether dropping Asher off at school or going to the office or hitting the local Y.  

Philly is reasonably bike-friendly, and hats off to those advocates who are trying to make it even more so, with a particular nod to making things more equitable in the process.  We can do better but it ain't bad now; after all, if I lived in a typical suburb, we wouldn't be having this conversation because things'd be too spread out to even try to be all biking all the time.  

That's the thing about cities vis a vis suburbs: they're denser, and allow for multiple travel modes besides just the car.  A suburbanite's life is defined by the rhythm of driving, which for some is relaxing and for others is stress-inducing.  In the city, mode-shifting happens all the time for all kinds of reasons, including I guess a global pandemic.  It's been interesting to experience this all-biking phase, with all its highs and lows.  We'll see how long it continues, which as with many adjustments from COVID, I suspect some of it will even post-COVID.