Back on the Rails

 

Up until and inclusive of the first few days of the pandemic, I was a transit pass holder, which meant that my regular commute was by transit and that (important for me, being hyper-thrifty) once I had procured the pass for the month the marginal cost to me of one more ride was zero. I continued to ride, first unmasked and then masked, until March 31, 2020, and then did not renew my pass but instead rode my bike everyone. And then kept riding, for exercise and to get around, until I had logged well over 5,000 miles over the 32-month span from April 1, 2020 to November 30, 2022. 

Effective December 1, I'm back to being a transit pass holder, and it's interesting how my daily routines have changed as a result. During that almost three-year stint, I would bike unless it was pouring rain or if there was ice on the ground, and sometimes I even chanced it when those things were in place. Not surprisingly, I had my share of close calls and near-death experiences, surely a determinant in calling it quits while I had my wits and heading back to the relative comfort of rails and buses. 

I don't miss fighting the elements or dumb car drivers. I do miss the exercise, the speed, and the autonomy. Bicycling is a pleasurable activity, and it puts you in control of your trip from Point A to Point B in ways that transit doesn't quite. That said, transit has much to commend, both from a public policy and personal pleasure standpoint, the latter including taking in the city scene at the street level and/or getting in some reading. You obviously can't read while you're biking, and let's just say while it's enjoyable to bump into someone on a subway or bus you absolutely don't want to run into anyone while biking as taken literally.

These are the kinds of textures an urban life affords you. Many of my friends and family live in places whose built form makes transit or bicycling impossible or improbable. There are certainly advantages to driving. I just prefer not having to for every single trip; in fact, I prefer to drive as little as possible, for reasons related to personal preference and protecting the planet. 

At any rate, I was on the wheels a while and now I'm back on the rails. See you around!