“All walkers and bikers are dismissed for the day, please be careful and watch for cars on your way home…” was announced every day of my elementary school years. We only lived 1.2 kms from our school so we had to walk or bike.
The ‘we’ I refer to is all the kids in my neighborhood. We usually drove or walked together; we were quite the pack! We loved taking the path through the gravel pit – especially on our bikes. So much fun!
I have always loved biking. I have never really biked for exercise, although it is inevitable that you will get some exercise even while out having fun.
I grew up in the Maritimes and most of my biking was done in the Annapolis Valley and then Halifax. I used my bike to get to and from places like school, friend’s places, university, and the pool. I bike on the roads following the rules (mostly). I didn’t bike to high school until our bus drivers went on strike.
There is something about peddling a bike that I find quite fulfilling. The hard work of uphill and the joy of gaining speed on downhills. It is freeing. It is delightful.
Twelve years ago, we moved to BC. Let me tell you, biking in BC, (for me is not the same at all. The bike I moved across the country sat idle once we moved to the Shuswap.
We started out in Revelstoke. All four of us loved to bike in Revelstoke. There was a stretch of 12 days once, where our car did not move. This is a long time for our family. The only place I did not bike was to the hospital; it was up the mountain, and I did not like arriving all sweaty to do my pastoral care.
David and Michael were taught the rules of the road, fitted for appropriate gear including helmets and off they went. They were both excellent bikers and still are today. They are much stronger than I am, that’s for sure.
Moving across the country and aging has changed how I bike. I now have a very fancy e-bike that helps me navigate the not so subtle ‘hills’ of BC. I do not think it diminishes biking or makes me less of a biker, because my e-bike lets me bike again. Just using a ‘regular’ bike was not letting me bike at all. I just do not have the strength in my legs for that.
I absolutely love my DOST ‘Drop’ bike. It was designed in Vancouver, so it is perfect. It has a long range and is very zippy. I use it to commute to church and a couple of the schools where I get called to work. I am not excited about biking on the highway, but we will see what the future holds.
I bought it as a birthday present in our self-declared jubilee year when I turned 50. When I first bought it, I spent too much time being afraid to get started because it was heavy and I didn’t want to wipe out, but now am so grateful for the chance to breeze down Blind Bay Road, skirts a flapping!
There are a few things that I am leery of: loose gravel and dogs. I travel cautiously around both. The things I love about biking far outweigh my concerns. The benefits (minus the hip flexor issue) for my health, for the environment, for my mental health. It is all good.
There is just something about throwing your leg over the body of a bike and stepping on the peddle and pushing off. I am not sure what it is, but it is awesome. There is a connection to the world that I experience on a bike that I do not get, walking or driving in a car. I sometimes listen to music, but a lot of the time I listen to the sounds around me.
It is a spiritual practice for me as much as anything else, I spend time praying (sometimes just not to be run over) or for the things I see and feel around me. It is so wonderful to drive by people and say hello.
I was inspired by the Executive Director of Sorrento Centre, Rev Michael Shapcott (also the Deacon at St. Mary’s Anglican-United Church), when he started biking. He had also purchased an e-bike. I loved seeing him drive into the Centre with his Labradoodle, Phoebe, riding in a trailer behind him. Such a wonderful sight. I knew the first time I saw him, that I needed to get back on a bike again.
I encourage you to find something that gives you joy and embrace it and go for it. I am so grateful that I have finally been able to resurrect the biker inside of myself. A couple of days this summer, I have gone for a hike, a bike, and a swim – my own personal triathlon, well not really, but it is fun to think about!
‘Find your Joy’ as Greg of TikTok would say!
