Those who know me, know that riding a bicycle changed my life. Some would say I was never the same after taking up cycling.
I’ve done several bike tours, multiple triathlons, even two Ironman distance races. But that doesn’t really convey how a bike changed my life.
Through bike commuting, I started to learn what a bike really meant. It meant saving time in traffic,being outside, and saving money. The time I spent riding home after a day at work was bliss. I was able to forget those things I left at my desk. It became the best part of my day, and it was voluntary.
When I made these discoveries, the bike I was riding was purchased on credit, and it was voluntary transportation. I loved how much ground I was able to cover on a ride, and how much I was able to see. And I could get to work pretty quickly too. I had never thought of a bike AS transportation.
For most of the globe, a bicycle IS transportation. It’s how you get to point A to point B. No entertainment, recreation or fun intended. It is an ends to a means. It is the path to a paycheck, to school.
It’s the way out of poverty.
Unfortunately, those poverty-stricken, those most desperately needing a bicycle, do not have the financial means for acquiring a two-wheeler. And if they did, chances are, they may be hard presseed to find one. In fact, most of the developing world, if they have access to bicycles, is riding archaic, ill-maintained machines. Bikes pulled from trash heaps. Bikes whose chains, cables and tires are weathered and worn from sea air, sun, and suffering from poor maintenance.
These imperfect, yet perfect vehicles manage to get their masters to their destinations reliably. Once one has discovered the efficiency of a bicycle, they have discovered a freedom that is hard to deny. The freedom a bicycle provides allows people to earn a living wage in most of the world. Granted, that is still not much, but it is a start. And after one has ridden a bike long enough, larger challenges and goals are not out of the question.
Still, for most of the world, access to a reliable bicycle is difficult. The bicycle collecting dust in the corner of your garage can help. The bike your son or daughter outgrew can help. Chances are, you own or know of a bike that is not being ridden that could be used as someone.
It’s time to put all bikes to use.
Bikes for the World is here to help:
http://bikesfortheworld.org
Don’t have a bike, but want to donate?
https://salsa.democracyinaction.org/dia/organizations/bfw/shop/custom.jsp?donate_page_KEY=681
I plan on revisiting this topic, so if you have ideas, I would love to hear them.
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I thought it very interesting that the Taliban banned women from riding bicycles as being against Allah. What it really was was another way to control them by making sure they couldn’t wander too far from home.