For Her Country, And Everyone’s

 Many cycling events, from local charity rides to races involving world-class riders, have been cancelled or postponed during the pandemic.  The cancelled rides were, mostly, annual events, and one assumes that they will resume once things return to “normal,” whatever that may mean.

On the other hand, Afghanistan’s female cyclists have no such hope.  Nobody really knows what could return that country to what it was three months ago, before the Taliban took power.  Women are losing the rights they regained during the past two decades—including, in effect, the right to ride a bicycle, an effect of the Taliban’s dress codes and prohibition against women venturing outside their homes without a male relative.

For some women, not being allowed to ride a bike means that they have no way to get to their jobs or schools—if indeed they are still allowed to work or study.  For some, though, it spells the end of their lives unless they can get out of the country and have a sponsor or other help waiting for them wherever they land.

Those women include Rukhsar Habibzi. Before she evacuated from Kabul Airport (just before it shut down) she was riding with the Afghan women’s national team and attending dental school.  Oh, and her activism got her a nomination for a Nobel Peace Prize—and threats of gender-based violence.

From Kabul, she was brought to Quatar, then to a US military base in Germany and an immigration center in New Jersey, where she waited for an emergency visa before settling in another state last week. 

She is slated to compete through 2023 for the Twenty24 development team.  Twenty24 owner Nicola Cranmer has set up a GoFundMe page to help Habibzai with rent, food, utilities, clothing, books and tuition. This fundraising effort “is not to fund a cycling team,” Cranmer stresses. Rather, she is trying to help a young woman become “the best athlete, student and leader she can be” after leaving her country “with just her purse.”  As an emergency visa holder, Habibzai gets very little assistance from the government.

She probably has dreams of winning races.  But Habibzai summed up her real goal in training and studying: “I want to showcase the physical and mental strength of an Afghan woman to Afghanistan and the whole world.” That, she believes, will show that “a woman is not weak” and that “success can be achieved by any gender.”

I’d be happy to have someone like her in my country!

What Do They Carry?

 Every once in a while, I see an article or blogpost about carrying stuff on your bicycle.  They mention the usual things:  racks, panniers, other bike bags, baskets, backpacks, trailers and such.

None of them, though, has ever mentioned anything like this:

Saving The Colors

Saturday was the last day of Daylight Savings Time.  It would be the last time until Spring I could start not much before noon, take a longish ride and get home before dark.  So I rode to--where else?--Connecticut. 

Connecticut is just a north of my apartment.  It's actually not very far "as the crow flies," but the geography and topography make it impossible to go like a crow.  Why would I want to be a crow anyway?  I wouldn't be able to ride my bike and, well, their diet isn't very appealing.

But I digress.  Connecticut is just far enough north that the Fall foliage is a few days ahead of ours in Astoria.  I figured, correctly, that it would be at or near peak.

In downtown Greenwich, I saw quite a few people out and about.  The day was chilly, but it was illuminated by that perfect autumnal light.  

Given how awful I felt on Thursday, I could hardly believe how wonderful I, and everything around me, felt.  I pedaled into a fairly stiff wind most of the way up.  The flip-side of that, of course, is that the wind blew me into the sunset.

From the Randalls Island Connector it's about another six kilometers to my apartment--just enough for me to enjoy the last flickerings of twilight.  And that night I'd have an extra hour of sleep after a 140 km ride.

Which Way?

 Could this be the cycling equivalent of "sitting on the fence?"

Will They Get Bikes For Christmas?

If you've tried to buy a bike, or replace parts on one you have, you may have had a difficult time.  COVID restrictions has stopped production and interrupted shipping and distribution all over the world. In the meantime, demand for bikes and parts has increased, as people were reluctant to take mass transportation (or, in some places, it was shut down altogether) and people found that cycling is one way to get to where you're going, get exercise along the way, and adhere to social distancing protocols.

All of that meant a boom in business for bike shops--as long as they had stock.  When supplies dried up, some kept their doors open by doing repairs, as people grew frustrated at not finding the bike or accessory they wanted.  But when supplies of new parts disappeared, those shops cannibalized other bikes for parts---until those ran out.

Thus did a sad irony unfold:  The very "boom" that led, for some shops, to their best profits in years or decades also led to their demise.  Not even well-established and well-respected shops were immune, as we saw when Harris Cyclery shuttered in June.

Now, this pandemic could claim another casualty:  Programs that give bikes to kids from needy families.  One such program is in Mississippi. The Community Benefit Committee of the Lowndes County Sheriff's office has been giving out bikes for the past ten years.  Some of those bikes come through donations, but the majority are purchased, wholesale, from Huffy.  The money comes from events like the Haunted House as well. 

This year's House brought in more than enough money to purchase the bicycles.  But Huffy says it doesn't have bikes to sell them.  Neither, of course, does the local Wal Mart.  

CBC founder and director Rhonda Sanders still holds out hope that there will be some bicycles available. But, just in case there aren't, she is making alternate plans to bring toys to younger kids or technology-related items for older ones.

Learning about Sanders' and the CBC's situation, I have to wonder how many similar programs are in jeopardy--not only this year.  After all, once factories that make bikes, parts and accessories are operating at full capacity, and shipping and distribution channels are flowing freely, warehouses and shops won't be fully restocked overnight.