Getting Back On The Bike

As some of you may have heard, I recently had my first major cycling run-in with a motor vehicle. I say “first,” partly to be cheeky but also with a significant amount of seriousness.  While I’ve come away from that experience as a continually living and breathing human being, I have been astounded at the amount of stories, similar to mine, that have been relayed to me from other cyclists since.
    Stories range from the common close calls, car doors opened quickly without consideration of cycling traffic, drivers slipping by with that all-too-familiar hint of aggression in their gestures, to a wide array of tales involving serious collisions. In fact, the vast majority of those collision stories end, unfortunately, with the driver fleeing the scene. Thankfully, all of the stories I heard in the last few weeks were being told by the cyclists themselves, who were able to heal up their injuries and move on, all still riding their bikes just as much as before.
    To be clear, I am not the type of person who is interested in propelling whatever feud exists between cyclists and motorists. While many cyclists have been victims of careless or reckless driving habits, it is also sometimes the case that the cyclist is in the wrong. What I am interested in bringing to the attention of our community is simply a heightened sense of awareness. We are all putting ourselves at risk in any number of ways every second of our lives, but there are certainly actions we can take to keep those risks at a fair minimum.
    Many people still wonder why, as cyclists, we continue to put ourselves in what seems to be one of the most risky positions of all.  For me, cycling brings a high sense of responsibility towards our community. I find myself continually more drawn to local businesses and events, I’m much more interested in the people who surround me, and it’s a good feeling to know that I can travel in a way that literally produces nothing that could be a detriment to our environment.  There isn’t anything complicated about cycling. No hidden parts, no mysteries. A simple, beautiful, human-powered machine.
    And those are also some of the reasons I, and literally every other cyclist I’ve met who has had a similar experience, got back on the bike after what may seem like a deal-breaker.  So where do we go from here? How do we change the way our community as a whole thinks about transportation, with patience and concern for one another?
    I think, even in the short few years I’ve been a cyclist, these changes have already started to happen. I was overwhelmed after my incident with the amount of positive energy and thoughts that were sent my way, and still feel a major sense of gratitude as well as humbling gratefulness to be a part of such a wonderful community of people.  What we need now is a conscious effort to make better decisions about our transportation, no matter which way we choose to carry it out. Whether in a vehicle or on a bicycle, we need to be exercising caution and patience with one another. We need to get to know each other better in order to increase our consciousness of responsibility to our neighborhoods.
    I guess all I’m asking in this moment is for everyone to take the extra second to think and act with patience and care for our surroundings. No one is perfect, we are all making mistakes regularly, but a few less mistakes might mean a few less accidents. A little more patience might mean a little more awareness and care. Consciousness, effort, and action will lead to positive change. Keep the dialogue going, continue to care for one another and continue to help make Lakewood be a forward-thinking and positive example.

Keep up with Lakewood cycling events!
Sunday Mass Ride...The second Sunday of every month, with two rides starting at Lakewood Park.
Bike Lakewood...Lakewood’s community cycling organization for togetherness and positive change.