The other night, I watched the movie The Magic of Flight with my family. While the stunts, the discipline and skill of the pilots were all spectacular, I started thinking about the idea of freedom frequently associated with flying. "Free as a bird," we humans always say. And, indeed, many of the pilots interviewed for the movie commented on the remarkable feeling of freedom they experienced when flying an airplane.
No doubt, that the development of an airplane afforded us the freedom of travel that earlier we could only dream about. Nevertheless, it struck me that the freedom the pilots referred to was reserved only for the few, the elite, who chose flying as their profession and life's work. Furthermore, this freedom is dependent upon a highly sophisticated, very expensive, and gas-powered (usually) machine. Further still, the thrill of this particular brand of freedom carries with it incredibly high risk that few are willing to take.
Don't get me wrong. I admire pilots and flying as much as the next person. But the point is, that something that is so expensive, so risky, and so depended on a set of highly specialized skills does not offer a lot of freedom to the average Jane or Joe.
I submit that the humble bicycle should be the vehicle of choice for freedom seeking individuals. Yes, I know, the only truly independent mode of travel for us humans are our own two feet. However, a bicycle provides faster and more efficient transportation, as well as the option to carry substantial loads, all at a very reasonable cost.
All-in-all, the bicycle provides basic, non-polluting transportation, and can
contribute to lowering traffic congestion and improving air quality.
The bicycle liberates us from the car trap: from traffic, from dependence on fossil fuels, from doing what is accepted, and from complacency. Because it is powered by you, it offers a sense of independence and freedom to travel
efficiently from one place to another, to change directions, take shortcuts (or "longcuts") in a way a car cannot. It can free us from
the daily stresses, from the constraints of traffic,
crowds and noise.
The bicycle can be a vehicle for social change. Many organizations use bikes to empower people around the world. Bicycles have also been used effectively in raising funds and awareness in a fight against
a number of diseases. But, even aside from organized initiatives, every time you get on a bicycle to get someplace, you are implicitly speaking out against transportation choices our society makes, policies and decisions espoused by our government, and for personal freedom and self-determination.
And that's what traveling by bike is all about. It's about inventiveness, going slightly against the grain, and discretely thumbing your nose at all the conformists stuck in their cars. They are sitting in traffics, and you are flying by, with that cool breeze on your back.



You are not a racer.









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