From Mexico City To Colorado, And A New Purpose

There are times when I believe that cycling is the only reason why I have anything that can be described as mental or emotional health.  I become sad, even depressed, when I can't ride for significant periods of time.  Also, I took two bike tours that were, at least in part, attempts to restore myself to some degree of sanity, and another led me to the single most important transformation I had to make.  

The latter ride took me up the Col du Galibier as well as other famed Tour de France and Giro d'Italia climbs in the Alps.  I started that tour in Lyon, France as a guy named Nick.  Two years later, I began my current life as a middle-aged lady named Justine.

The other two tours followed crises in my life, one of which culminated in a sort of minor breakdown.  In both of those rides, I spent weeks--actually, months on the first tour--on my bike in foreign lands, living on a student's wages or less.  Don't get me wrong:  I experienced all sorts of pleasures on both of those rides, as well as the one in the Alps.  But they also were power-washes, if you will, against the detritus of some past experiences that had been causing me even more internal distress than I'd realized--or, perhaps, was willing to admit.

So when I came across Rafael's story, I felt as if I'd met someone after my own heart.  Of course, I don't imagine that his ride from Mexico City to Colorado will lead him to the sorts of changes I made.  But he does talk about the restorative powers of his ride, and how it led him to a mission, if you will:  fixing bicycles for underprivileged people in his newly-adopted community.

The next time someone asks you why you ride, ask yourself (and that person):  What would your life be like if you didn't ride?

A Harvard Debate On Bicycles

Students in universities like Harvard are known to probe for answers to all sorts of deep questions.

At least, in popular imagination, they are. 

(At this point, the Harvard graduates of my acquaintance might stop reading this post--or reading this blog altogether.  "There's no other university like Harvard!" they would protest.)

OK...So what sorts of questions might they ponder? Ones about the nature of the universe?  The meaning of life?

How about this:  Should the school's undergraduate council help to subsidize bicycle purchases at local shops for low-income students?  Or should the Council buy those bicycles and rent them on an annual basis?

(And here I thought Harvard didn't have low-income students.  Then again, to be fair, I should point out that Harvard's tuition is less than that of other Ivy League schools!)

However Council members discussed the subsidy-vs.-rental issue, they at least recognize that bicycles are important for students.  Some, of course, use them for transportation.  But Council representative Rainbow Yeung (With a name like that, she should be in Naropa University!) pointed out that bicycles can "definitely positively (Is that the Crimson way of saying "totally, absolutely"?) impact a lot of students' mental health."

A Harvard bicycle. Actually, it's a 1936 Rollfast "Harvard".  I know it has nothing, besides the name, to do with this article.  But I love the way it looks!

So she and the Council have good intentions, at least.  But those who oppose the subsidy idea believe that purchasing bikes and renting them out to students would "take away the upfront costs and make sure it stays within the community," in the words of representative Victor Agfabe.  On the other hand, proponents of the subsidy say that maintaining a fleet of bikes "makes it clear that, oh, here are the UC bikes for the students on financial aid," according to fellow representative Amanda Flores.

The two sides debated, as such folk are wont to do.  And, last week, they took a vote.  In the end, they went with the subsidies.  The Undergraduate Council decided to allocate $3000, of which any one qualifying student can receive $50.  

Students may also use their money to purchase a skateboard or scooter.  I have to wonder, though, how much skateboard, scooter or bicycle they can buy for $50:  they are all just about as expensive in the Boston area as they are here in New York!