- Because damn it, you can. Pushing off, that glide, that imperceptible understanding (it’s a feeling, really), realizing balance is about speed. The faster you pedal, the easier it is.
- It’s a rite of passage. The first time your father or mother, jogging alongside you and your wobbly Schwinn, their hand on the saddle or the flat of your back, released you. There was no turning back then.
- There’s a natural ease to riding a bike. Like talking or laughing. Rolling over flat, unimpeded ground, the momentum leaning into a turn — perfection.
- It’s like riding in a convertible (how the world opens up, and out and out) or standing on top of a roof. Perspective changes. Everything is better by bike. Lilacs are more fragrant. The sky is bluer. Sounds — the clicking chain caught between gears, tires on gravel, catching your breath — are truer, more distinct.
- Cycling is like no other transport. The vigor you feel slowing for your destination, that sense of accomplishment, point A to point B — all on your own accord. You did this. Nothing else got you there.
- Because David Byrne is an advocate.
- And the benefits: extra parking spaces at Kowalski’s, one less car running a red light on Hennepin, less noise, less congestion, less pollution, more sculpted thighs and calves, improved cardio, increased blood flow, vitamin D.
- Biking is a combination of momentum, balance, concentration and strength. Plus a little determination on those slow climbs up Irving and Fremont Avenues. My commuter friends boast about the rides home. As if the journey were the point of the exercise. They arrive home happier, sweatier, more present.
- Without bicycles, there’s no Greg LeMond, “Breaking Away”, or Katharine Ross sitting on Paul Newman’s handlebars with “Raindrops Keep Fall in’ On My Head.”
- It’s meditative. Spending an hour inside your head while the world passes by in vibrant colors restores vitality and purpose.
- Three seasons a year it’s a hearty, healthy, adventurous way to run errands, hit the gym, see a movie, go to a show, or eat at a local restaurant. You’ll thank yourself afterwards.
- The best is cycling with a group or a friend. Think of the social benefits of tennis or pickleball only you’re traveling a greater distance. Conversation is king: arguing The Suburbs versus The Replacements, solving world hunger, or simply lending a sympathetic ear to a troubled friend.
- Cycling city streets reinforces community, the notion that automobiles, trucks, public transit, pedestrians, dog walkers, stray squirrels and bicyclists can work together in harmony.
- In this breakneck world it’s a fantastic way to unwind.
- Give it a go… it’ll change your life. Vroom!
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A little dollop of crow. A crow wing.
Just when you think you’ve figured out who makes the decisions, another committee appears. Some facts corrected. Some questions answered. Some skepticism preserved for future use.