My first memories of biking are of going in circles in the driveway, doing my best to stay upright on this strange machine and keep moving forward. Shortly afterward I graduated to morning rides on multi use trails with my family, shuttled by my mom or dad to the trailhead. Young me watched with some anticipation as they unloaded our bikes. And then we were off into the humid Missouri summer, pedaling around a lake and other trail users.
I feared biking back then. Not because of biking itself; I always had a helmet, and we never rode aggressively enough to get hurt. But I was scared of people, plain and simple. And on these rides, we would come across countless people; folks out and about just enjoying the path like we were, all of these perfect strangers.
It was terrifying to ring my little purple bell or call out to let people know I was about to pass them. All the runners, the dog walkers, they had to deal with a girl pedaling furiously past them, tight lipped and looking the other way. Ride after ride, my parents would chastise me for not saying anything, not giving fair warning. But that just seemed to make it worse. The more someone tells you to do your taxes, or try a vegetable every once in a while, the more it makes you not want to do it. It was the same principle.
I grew to resent biking and how it took so much effort; the hassle of driving to the trail, the pain of calling out my verbal warning, all of it. It wasn’t until college that I grew to appreciate biking once again, with a sleek Trek hybrid in hand and a bike friendly campus. For the first time, I realized that biking could happen beyond the multi use trail. It could happen right here, on wide plazas and streets with low speed limits. It could help you get places faster, and with free parking to boot.
At the time, my sister and I also shared a car. I didn’t mind it at first, but then I got a summer job on campus. Our parking permit was only valid for the school year. This begged the question: should I really pay for a summer parking permit? Would it be worth it?
Slowly, a seed began to plant itself in my mind. “You could ride your bike to campus,” it said, quietly at first but more and more persistent, “It wouldn’t be so hard. Not too impossible.”
So I did my due diligence. I researched my route on Google Maps, memorizing the streets I would need to take. I rode the route on the weekend, coasting through neighborhoods I had never seen before. I came to recognize bumper stickers and shady spots along the way.
Besides the heat, bike commuting wasn’t so bad. During the summers, with school out of session, the streets were more empty, less intimidating. It felt absolutely freeing to move as I pleased. I could ride right up to my destination and take my pick of parking spots. On the way home, I would take the longer scenic route. It was on a multi use trail that quickly became my favorite place in town, surrounded by trees and utterly refreshing. And so once the school year started back up again, it became second nature to strap on my helmet, wheel my bike out, and make the four mile commute to classes.
For me, biking has been a way to see the world from a different point of view, riding through places cars cannot go and going farther than I can run or walk. It has encouraged me to rethink transportation in our communities and what it means to cultivate a “Strong Town”. It has taught me discipline and the pure joy of bombing down hills. Ringing my warning bell is not so hard anymore, and can even be fun.
What about you? Why do you bike? Leave a comment below!
Eunice Wang 