I Honestly Shouldn’t Tell You This

I honestly shouldn’t tell you this because I increase my chances of winning if there are fewer people participating. But this is how much I love you — I want you in on the (much-needed) fun as well.

Love to Ride (where I host Team Trust the Journey every Biketober) is now encouraging people to ride their bikes during December in its Winter Wheelers promotion. No teams needed. Every day you ride for as little as ten minutes you get a chance to win a daily prize (reflective jacket, lights, or super cute smiley gloves), and you’re added into the pool for the Christmas Day drawing of a free electric bike.

And, ok, I get it. You may be mostly driving right now. I drive, too. Yet I keep a bike in the back of my car at all times, and I find I can ride almost any day I’m driving places just by including a stop at a path or park, or using waiting time to explore.

Yesterday was a great example. I had to wait for a loved one during a three-hour medical test and no part of me was going to sit in that indoor space, masked and worried. I put on my winter jacket and gloves and knocked out five miles by literally doing a couple of laps around the hospital and a little exploring nearby.

I warmed up with a cup of coffee at an outdoor table and watched the motor vehicle traffic roar by right there on the border of two “Bicycle Friendly Communities” (where, unfortunately, self-preservation required me to ride illegally on the sidewalk, so do be sure to question those awards and help ensure that they truly mean everyday people going regular places can ride bikes there.) (Also, please consider these low-hanging-fruit actions your city can take right now to be more bike-friendly.)

Now, more than ever, is your opportunity to reduce the chance for co-morbidities that could land you in that portable refrigerated morgue I passed on the side of the hospital. And you may even feel a little lighter as you take a figurative — or actual— leap of faith, at a time when the light at the end of the tunnel of this historic pandemic is still a while away.

So, join me here in Metro Atlanta on LoveToRide.net. (Philly is doing this too, by the way, as are select businesses nationwide.) Tell ’em I sent ya. And let’s be winners together this next week, and beyond.