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I found a new comment in my BikeJournal profile today.
I happened across “bikerjohn’s” [bike]journal and dropped him a note. He told me about you, because I said that anyone who rode in the Rochester winters was really dedicated. Then I reviewed your [bike]journal. You, sir, are more than dedicated, you are demonstrating what it is like to have cycling as a religion. I lived in Rochester for some thirty years, and know what the winters are like; you bike through it all. You are amazing.
While I take the compliment in the spirit intended, I feel neither dedicated nor amazing. It’s unusual, I’ll grant that.
I simply made a decision to use a bicycle for primary transportation. Once the decision was made, it’s just how I get around. It’s no more amazing than the six years I got around by bus prior to buying the bike. It requires no more dedication than getting around by car for the 26 years before that. It certainly requires less work than either.
Sure it began as an experiment. I wasn’t sure it could be done. I wasn’t sure I could do it, even if it could be done.
What I found was that the first month or so last April took some commitment. It was only because I was 35 years out-of-shape. Since then, everything’s been easy. Adverse conditions have simply been an exercise in problem-solving. Never once did it even enter my mind that maybe I should take the bus or call for a ride or something.
True, there have been days I’d rather not have gone out. They were no different than those same sorts of days when I used the bus or drove a car. Those times I went out anyway. I went out anyway this year too.
There were two days I recall this winter, when I felt conditions were unsafe. Not that I’d have had trouble, but the roads were like an amusement park bumper car ride. Drivers were staying home for the same reason. Had more of them taken that advice, it would have been perfectly safe for me.
As for cycling as religion, my transportation cycling doesn’t fall into that category, although I have been known to evangelize. My recreational rides come closer to cycling as religion. And in that regard, I’m no different than any other bike nut.
