Our first day of food distribution with the Franciscan Center in August
By Clarissa Chen, Community Engagement Coordinator
Last November, my roommate sent me a story from the New York Times Modern Love column, The Bike that Saved My Life. In the story, the author tells us about the year she started to ride her bike in New York City, out of necessity for transportation and exercise when strapped for cash. She learns to cross the once-treacherously steep Manhattan Bridge and enjoy the skyline views, buy warm gear to keep her biking through the winter, and recognize other bike commuters -- all the while moving through a tough breakup and living alone.
It kind of feels like this year has been one long, neverending, tough breakup for us all. We’re in different boats in the same storm, and for most boats, the storm has wrecked our sense of security and wellbeing. I shy away from thinking about it, but we have lost so much this year. For me, some of those losses feel, at times, superficial: like not being able to see friends, visit my family, take myself to a cafe. Others have lost family members, jobs, the feeling of safety in public streets, stable housing.
Thankfully, our bikes have been a beacon of healing, connection, and joy in this tumultuous time. In the quiet moments of solo rides, we can reconnect with our city. In shared loops around Lake Montebello, we reconnect with each other. In uncertainty in crowded spaces, we get around with less anxiety. This year, I’ve seen how many people have started biking again, biking more, or using their bikes in new ways.
Something else I’ve thought about a lot this year is our collective capacity for imagination. When people’s calls to defund the police became louder through collective protest, we asked, “What are the alternatives?”
2020 has shown me that if we can imagine it, we can build it, and on bikes, no less. We imagined, alongside Gwen from Civic Works, cyclists bringing food to older adults on their bike. We imagined a physically distant and fun Cranksgiving unlike any we had done before. We imagined collective artwork with a bunch of people’s hand drawn bikes on it. These are small examples in the scope of change - but we are also imagining streets with space for people of all abilities and modes of transportation.
As this year closes, I am setting an intention to sit with the imagination of those around me and nourish it. What else can we imagine in 2021? What else will we build? Our fiction becomes reality with each day of building, solidifying, and resting in this world. And I am grateful for those who are building with us — thank you.
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