12 Days of Bikemas — #12: Joy – Traveling at the Speed of Bike

You constantly hear people say that the roads are dangerous. The roads are not dangerous. On days when there are no motor vehicles, such as during Open Streets events and before marathons and parades, they are lovely to ride bikes on. A joy, in fact. What makes roads unsafe for people on bikes is motor vehicles and the people who drive them. Period.

Here I am on my 6-mile daily lap around the block in rural Kansas while WWOOFing at an alpaca ranch and eco spirituality center in Pawnee Rock, Kansas during Round America with a Duck. Maybe one person in a motor vehicle would pass me during that entire six-mile ride. In short, I felt safe. However, I’m not usually riding on empty rural roads.

Increasingly, we have realized that the only way to be safe while riding a bike in our shared public space is to not have to depend on the actions of a person driving a motor vehicle for our safety. That’s why separated and protected bike lanes have become so popular. They work. They work for people of all ages and abilities, at all times of the day and night.

And that’s why, despite my previous proclamations of no longer wasting my time at City Hall, I have a seat at the table (the only woman, by the way) at an upcoming meeting (late January) about National Bike Month (May). Several city councilors have requested our first protected bike lanes be installed by then after I shared these simple bike lane protectors from Dublin during Day 4 of 12 Days of Bikemas. Will 2025 be the year it finally happens?

I will ride my bike to City Hall that day, as I ride my bike everywhere in this city. I will park my bike at a rack in a spot that doubles as City Hall’s smoking section. And I will advocate, once again, for basic dignity in our shared public spaces now, not in twenty years (I’ve been asking for them for 15 years, since where I live became the newest city in the USA in 2008).

Thank you for joining me for 12 Days of Bikemas*. Writing is a muscle, and I wanted to flex it a bit with daily writing again as I gear up to write Round Ireland with a Duck, the sequel to Round America with a Duck.

Thank you for all the emails and other messages about 12 Days of Bikemas, and other content you may have found here or on my other blogs. Thank you to those of you who have purchased and read my books. And a very special thank you to those of you who are showing up, year after year, at your city halls and being a voice in the madness, a light in the darkness (as the light begins to return today on the Winter Solstice). It matters. You matter. Trust the journey.

Slán go fóill (bye for now),

Pattie

* 12 Days of Bikemas (click the number above each photo for the related blog post, if interested)