ChiWhoBike #88
I bike to the hospital, and take my bike up to a students lounge. So every time someone new sees a bike, they’re like, ‘Oh, someone rides a bike here!’ Then when I’m taking my bike out, they’ll always ask me, ‘You bike to the hospital?’ And I say it’s not a bad idea - you get your workout done, you stay a bit more fit, it’s a good way of refreshing after a hard day. So I really try and encourage my friends and residents to consider biking, and I really wish that more doctors would start commuting with their bikes. It really sets an example for everyone else to follow.
I’m a med student, so you can imagine how life is. I got this used road bike bike about six months ago, and I’ve loved it. I was trying to get into triathlons and just start biking more in Chicago, but the main reason I got it was for commuting. So I saved up a bit, and then I’ve been using this bike for commuting to the hospital and riding here on the Lakefront trail - the gem of Chicago, I would say, for people who run or bike. That’s where you’ll find me on my weekends or weekdays off.
I’m from a big city in India, Nagpur. We have a little over 10 miles of bike lanes, so to me something that really stands out for Chicago is the bike lanes, because Chicago has a lot. Of course there’s a lot more that could be added. But the other thing that really jumps out is the cycling community here. It feels like you’re a part of that community. When you see someone biking around, it just feels like you belong with them and you’re friends in a way. And the number of people who bike here, it’s so much more than I would find in India. In India, I would occasionally see people biking, but here I go out and I find like 10 people in five minutes.
To me, biking represents freedom. It’s the freedom of going anywhere you want to, not just commuting or fitness. On my free day, it’s my freedom to go out and explore the city in a very different way than walking, than driving or using public transport. It’s fast enough and it’s easy enough not to be tired by walking, but not fast enough that you can’t look around. So to me it signifies the freedom to explore.
