ChiWhoBike #8
Whenever I would talk about my love for biking, the first immediate response would be ‘I would love to bike, I’m scared, it’s too dangerous’. And it pissed me off because that was the number one reason. It wasn’t because it’s too far, or I don’t like biking, it was always always always that it was too dangerous. That was the only thing stopping them. So then once you start talking to people and you start connecting it to your biking experience, you start to realize the environment around you is designed for cars and specifically against other modes of transportation. If you look at the sidewalks, if you look at the bike lanes that are just paint or flex posts, like there’s no protection, it is intentionally designed for cars, one mode of transportation. That’s what really radicalizes you, and you meet this beautiful community of cyclists that bring you in and share your same views, and then you realize everyone else that wants to bike is missing out because of the lack of safe infrastructure.
I would just encourage everyone who is on the fence about biking to find a group that they’re comfortable with. Because I think it’s very intimidating to just get on a bike and ride when you’re not comfortable. But when you find a group of people that you can relate to, maybe they ride at night maybe they ride in the mornings, however you identify with that group I would encourage you to group rides. There’s safety in numbers, and every group I have ridden with has been extremely welcoming and that would be my advice as a first step if you’re interested.
