Moving Into Integrity One Bike Ride At a Time
I’ve been undergoing a few significant shifts lately, and the one I want to share with you today is a continuation of sorts from last week’s post How to Move Forward When You Feel Stuck.
The trigger behind this latest shift was a book - Bikenomics by Elly Blue - that I picked up at my new favorite locale Eco Flamingo, "a zero waste general store" (located at Rockwell and Lawrence, for my Chicago peeps).
Elly lives in Portland, has never owned a car, and uses her bike to get around. This is the book that my spirit has craved since my car got impounded (despite being legally parked(!)) in Minneapolis while I was attending a protest (c. 2000). It was this impoundment that led me to donate my car to a friend (in exchange for them paying the impound fee) and rely on my bike and public transit to get around.
This was fairly short-lived, as less than a year later I was cruising around in a new Impala, courtesy of the union who’d hired me to spy for them and do other nons-savory activities…like digging through rat-infested dumpsters for intel. But the nostalgia of not owning a vehicle remained and has continued to remain some 24 years later.
A picturesque view rather and a better maintained cruiser than what I’m contending with…
Anyway, the gist is that my encounter with Elly’s book inspired me to dust off my rusty old single-gear coaster brake heavy AF beach cruiser (that was a mouthful!) and take a turtle step that downright terrified me: ride down Chicago's crazy streets to attend a yoga class.
I fully expected to hate every moment of it, with my intention being to build up the nerve to “just do it scared.” But despite my expectations of white-knuckling it and arriving at Bloom Yoga in the form of a giant sweaty stress ball, the opposite happened.
I. FELT. ALIVE. BLISSFUL. FREE.
As I reflected on this deeply awesome and unexpected experience, I discovered that these feelings arose in no small part because biking for transportation has always more deeply aligned with my values.
Like most Americans, there was a time when I relied on my car for 99.9% of my transportation needs. And while something in me yearned to relinquish my car, the plethora of challenges I faced seemed too large to overcome.
That is, until I moved to Chicago and in with my partner (c. 2020) and finally ditched my car...and a good $800 in related monthly expenses. From 2020 through maybe 2023, I'd borrow Bob's car to run errands, take public transit when I needed to go to the office, and walked wherever I could.
In 2024, I decided I didn't want the responsibility of driving Bob's vehicle anymore. I didn't want to pay for insurance or deductibles. I didn't want to spend my Saturday mornings in line at the car wash. And I simply didn't want to drive.
The result was getting hella comfortable with public transit.
But late, unpredictable, and crowded AF city buses are an incubus for all sorts of unpleasantries. Like germs and overinflated male egos and entitled humans who leave their bags on seats that standing passengers are too polite to request. Or L trains that are packed to the gills and your seat mate (clearly!) ate a gallon of garlic-laden hummus right before boarding. #unpleasant
All that to say that I was ripe and ready for change when Bikenomics and I crossed paths.
Now, I'm not one of those people who believes that "everything happens for a reason" or that everything is a product of my "manifesting skills" (do NOT get me started on why I take issue with this!). But I do believe in synchronicities.
In this case, I was hungry for change. And the opportunity to change presented itself at Eco Flamingo.
And, it turns out that this synchronicity - this crossing paths with a random book at a random store - nudged me into living in greater integrity with my values.
Since then - and by “then,” I’m referring to the past two or three weeks - I’ve been cycling. A lot. I’m even building up the nerve to bike from my Far North/Northwest Side home to the Loop the next time I have to go into the office.
I’m exploring bike shops to upgrade my bike situation into one that’s lighter, has a few gears, is more comfortable, and can accommodate a back rack (my cruise’s wheels and fenders are fat AF). And I’m cycling to said bike shops. I’ve also - and this blows my mind at least as much as it does to bike on a busy Chicago street - become crazy interested in learning how to fix and maintain my bike. [My intention is to take apart and rebuild my old beach cruiser once I’ve replaced it.]
So that’s my story for today.
Circling back to how this post may apply to you…
At the surface, this post is about what inspired me to start biking for transportation and what my experience with it has been so far. If that’s what you take away and it inspires to try the same, AWESOME. You are doing something wonderful for our planet, your finances, and other cyclers (the more of us there are out there, the safer it is for all of us).
But this post is really about me moving into deeper integrity with who I am and living in alignment with my values. It’s also about recognizing synchronicities. So with that, I have two things for you to ponder…
Where are you feeling a pull - or even the slightest nudge - to make a change in your life? One that isn't based on "shoulds" but is instead based on something emanating deep from within? Maybe it seems tiny, or maybe it seems gargantuan. Regardless, there is a turtle step lurking somewhere. What is it?
Keep an eye out for synchronicities - for things that others write off as random encounters - and exploring messages they may hold for you. This isn't about "making meaning" out of everything (#notafan), but finding meaning - or recognizing synchronicities - in a way that inspires positive shifts in how you relate to the world can be life-affirming.
That is all. Now, I’m off to ride my bike somewhere. #becauseitsfun
