I will write a short post about World Bicycle Day. You can read more about it here.
But I was reflecting on this day. Two words come to mind when I think about a bicycle: Beauty and Grit.
The bicycle provides beauty on many different levels.
It’s a simplistic machine that uses the power of the human spirit to accelerate it.
It’s an environmentally, financially sustainable mode of transportation, allowing someone to get to point A to point B, cost-effectively without burning all those carbon emissions from an automobile.
It’s a physical and mental health prescription, increasing muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness. It also increases your creative thinking and calms a person down.
Its also economically empowering by leveraging transportation costs for lower-income households. I can personally attest to this, as its been the difference between a modest lifestyle and crushing debt if I had a car (which I don’t).
It’s also a toy, as a mode of escapism and bringing back childhood memories.
Its also glamorous as you can decorate your bike however you like, and ride with whatever clothes you want.
Meanwhile, the bicycle is also gritty.
It’s a gym, allowing someone to keep in shape without spending lots of money on fancy gyms.
Its also a tool in strengthening personal development and discipline. One can get up at 4 am and 5 am almost every morning, go for a quick 10 km ride, and then do the same thing at night to go along with your commute. David Goggins once said, “Mental toughness is a lifestyle .”It includes cycling in the dead of -30 winters, 30C summer heat, and heavy downpours. It helps callus the mind and strengthen it. Goggins said it best: “Never let people who choose the path of least resistance steer you away from your chosen path of most resistance.”
Regardless of what lens you look at, in the beautiful or gritty lens, no other machine can capture these two words than the bicycle.
All Photos by Adam Johnston
Adam M. Johnston, B.A. 