They say “don’t read the comments.” And I try not to, but sometimes I see them. They are mostly nice and supportive. But since I often tell a rubber-hits-the-road truth that some people don’t want to hear, or I merely exist in public space and some people don’t want me there, I get told to stay home (I hear ya — I’ll create a free bike tour somewhere else), or called an asshole (that one’s in my book). I even turned off comments on this blog, permanently, as a result of the truly unacceptable stuff people were saying to me after I survived a hit-and-run while riding my bike. But it stays with me, it’s toxic, and it makes me want to move on*.
So it happened again, and I need to give it some thought. Note: I did alter a headline based on comments because I agree I had been a little misleading. However,
There’s a blanket dismissal of women’s lived experience that hits a nerve for me. And time is a nonrenewable resource, I do this work for free, and need is great elsewhere.
I’ll be doing my 6-month reflection as Metro Atlanta Bicycle Mayor shortly (here’s the 3-month overview), following two upcoming meetings of our global consortium of bicycle mayors. I’m also doing some praying about purpose, and where I’m needed right now.
FYI, Peace Corps is brewing again. We finally had some forward movement after a long delay (I was supposed to leave for Uganda June 4, 2020). I’m still scheduled to leave in August 2021 (although I expect that to shift again). I may need to start thinking about how to wrap things up after May (National Bike Month). My husband, daughters, parents, and I have some bridges to cross.
I’m not fishing for support here. I’m just thinking out loud, and as always, trusting the journey.
Today is my second COVID vaccination, by the way. I drive through this city to get there. I took a photo there in my green ball gown in front of a mural after my first shot on St. Patrick’s Day. The city is very cute; it is where the Atlanta Regional Commission Green Communities program kicked off in 2008 (I attended that full-day workshop and started the Dunwoody Sustainability Commission shortly after when where I live became the newest city in the USA); and I was under the impression bike access-for-all was happening. I was hoping to create a free tour there (here are my other tours). I won’t be doing that. Blah blah blah. Stay home.
*Writing my new book, Slow Duck Crossing, was way more fun than this bike advocacy stuff (although there’s a youth advocacy angle in the story). Maybe more of that . . .
Related posts:
Traveling at the Speed of Bike 