Nothing But Happiness Through Your Door

 Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Well, I wonder how happy it will be--for you, for me, for anybody. In a sad irony, my city--New York--and many others shut down on this day last year.  The day before last St. Pat's was the last time I set foot on campus, and some shops have yet to open.

Once again, the parade will not be held in person.  But, I hope to go for a ride later today.  This old Irish blessing captures the spirit of cycling for me:

May your troubles be less

and your blessings be more

and nothing but happiness 

come through your door.

(Illustration from Lula Bell)

P.S. I got my first dose the other night.

The Unbearable Whiteness Of Cycling

When a (n-word) comes in with a nice bike, I know he didn't buy it.  I know it's a stolen bike.

The owner of a shop in my undergraduate university town made that pronouncement.  I hadn't thought about him--probably gone--and the shop--long gone--in a long time, until I wrote posts about Black and Native American cyclists being cited at much higher rates than White riders for helmet infractions.

I got to thinking about it, again, when I came across a report of a study, "Where Do We Go From Here?"  People for Bikes conducted it, and Charles T. Brown of Rutgers University's Vooorhees Transportation Center led it.  

Among its conclusions:  The increased popularity of cycling--accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic--in US cities has largely been a White phenomenon.  Focus groups conducted in ten cities reveal that, in addition to economic barriers (something I mentioned in my earlier posts), non-Whites, and Blacks in particular, cite a non-inclusive cycling culture and infrastructure.  Some participants said they saw cycling as a "white thing," in part because of images of cyclists projected, consciously or unconsciously, by the media and the cycling community itself.  "Whenever I see pictures of cyclists or anyone on a bicycle," one participant explained, "I just think it's not for me as someone who is over a size 10 and Black."  

(By the way, I am over a size 10 and probably always will be, no matter how much weight I lose!)

Pedal Possse Divas. Photo by David Swanson, for the Philadelphia Inquirer

The study's conclusions are all valid.  Our culture needs to be more inclusive, and its infrastructure more accessible.  But I also can't help but wonder whether some non-White people--young Black men in particular--are deterred because of how the police and criminal justice system treat them when they ride.  In addition to being disproportionately cited for not wearing helmets in places like Seattle, they are more likely to be ticketed for violations like riding on the sidewalk* --or simply stopped for "suspicion" if they're riding a nice bike.  

In short, as the People for Bikes study concludes, we won't see more non-White cyclists if Blacks, Native Americans and others don't see themselves in images of cycling--or sipping lattes in cycling cafes.  But I think the changes have to include not treating non-White cyclists as criminals when they ride the same bikes in the same ways as White cyclists.

Our bikes come in all sizes and colors.  (So do many cyclists' jerseys!)  Why shouldn't our images of cyclists?

*--Every cyclist I've met, or heard of, who's been cited for riding on the sidewalk in New York City is not White.

Visiting The Visiting Nurses

 My late-Saturday ride brought me to the light.

No, I didn't have a religious experience.  Rather, the last dusk before Daylight Savings Time--a little more than a week before the Spring Equinox--cast a glow on this city's streets and seemed to capture the flickerings of hope so many yearn for, after a year of the pandemic.

 

Nurses are widely celebrated as heroes.  They deserve an entryway like the one on this building, next to the Oxford Nursing Home.  The fellow sitting in front (he offered to move; I told him "It's OK") and his friend told me that the building now serves as artists' studios and offices for arts organization.  Not surprisingly, they added, the building was a residence for the nurses and other personnel.

The street on  which it's located--South Oxford--is nestled among the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Atlantic Terminal-Barclays Center and recently-built offices.  The Visiting Nurses building is just one treasure on a street chock-full of them.  Oh, and I wasn't the only person on a bicycle.

Daylight Savings Record?

Daylight Savings Time begins today.  If you're in an area where it's observed, remember to set your clock (and Garmin) ahead an hour.

Hmm...What if someone started a 24-hour challenge at midnight and had ridden, say, 35 miles by 2 am--the moment when clocks are set back an hour? Would that person still have 35 miles--with an extra hour to ride?

Maybe, at my age, I can set a record after all!

 

Protection Or Discrimination?

Was he protecting the company's interests?  Or the would-be customer's?  

Or was he discriminating against the would-be customer?

Giant Halifax, a shop in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, refused to hand Sebastien Barsetti a bicycle he'd bought.  Barsetti made the purchase from the Giant Bicycles website and was later notified that it would be ready to pick up from Giant Halifax.

Before going to the shop, Barsetti called to ask some questions about proper adjustments.  "I told them my weight, my height," he recalls.  "Shortly after, they told me they wouldn't sell it to me because of my weight."

Sebastien Barsetti

Barsetti tips the scales at just over 300 pounds,  the rider weight limit. Riding the bike was part of his plan to get back into shape. Even though he pledged not to ride the bike until he lost some weight, owner Barry Misener backed his shop's refusal.  "You cannot ride that bike safely," he explained. He expressed concern that the bicycle's components could fail and result in serious, possibly life-threatening injury.

Finally, Misener said he'd let Barsetti take the bike only if he signed a release. "So he finally understood that the bike is not safe to ride," Misener said.  "At that point, he hung up on me."

While Misener cited safety concerns, Barsetti saw the situation differently.  "I wonder, would they weigh everybody going into the store?"  

He got a refund through Giant Group Canada.  But, he says, he plans to push forward with his active lifestyle goals.  "I'm hoping to find a bike and just commute to work," he said.

I can understand, somewhat, how he felt:  like one of many people who walked into a bike shop and felt discriminated-against because they didn't fit the shop owner's or employee's image of what a cyclist should be.  (I actually once overheard a shop salesperson telling a potential customer that she should lose weight before she started riding a bike.)  On the other hand, I also understand why Misener acted as he did:  Just about all bikes and parts can bear only a certain amount of weight.  In particular, many lightweight racing parts, such as rims and handlebars, are made for riders of 85 kilograms (185 pounds) or less.