Day and Night
We’ve got another beautifully painted ride report and photo from @soozed….and we’d like to officially introduce her as one of our Loving the Bike team members. Yes, she’ll be posting on a regular basis over here and I’m so excited about it.
Day and Night
by Suzanne Deveney
Black and white. Good and evil. As intelligent beings we’re programmed not to view the world in such narrow terms. But there are things that happen sometimes that make us question.
Recently, a cyclist in Chicago was attacked while riding her bike at night. According to reports, a vehicle bumped up against her, then a backseat passenger grabbed her messenger bag and pulled her along until her bike hit a parked car. Only then did he let go and she and her bike ended up on the pavement.
People who ride bikes live with the possibility that something can go wrong. A car door opens in your path. An impatient driver makes a right turn in front of you. A text message takes precedence. You can’t think about these things or you’d never go out.
But when it’s done maliciously … well that puts a different spin on things, doesn’t it? It can strike fear in the heart of even the most seasoned cyclist.
That incident affected me deeply. I don’t know her personally, but I still feel like I know her in some sense. We ride the same streets, perhaps for different reasons, but that doesn’t matter. We belong to the same community.
So this night ride was for everyone who loves a bike . And it was for me, so that I could be assured that evil does not lurk around every corner.
There is a place where the joy of riding overcomes the fear, and I can still feel safe.
Well done. Really. and rough. Unfortunately I have to agree that at times you just have to block out stuff like that or you might not go out, and if you dont, we all know how much there is to miss. I think this type of fear keeps a lot of people off of bikes. I have been hit badly a couple times, serious injury type hit, and it I spent all my time thinking about it, it might keep me out of the saddle, and I cannot do that.
I really hope she didn’t hurt herself severely
She was bruised, but not severely injured (thankfully). People stopped to help her right away. She’s back riding, which I think is awesome.
I have come back and read
this a couple times, nicely written. Hearing about this incident makes me
cringe and sparks so many thoughts revolving around the much bigger picture in
my head, kudos to you for staying focused. So many elements make up our daily
lives, twinges of fear and anxiety are just fuel for what in the end we feel as
excitement, it’s why we continue to do things that others consider
unacceptable. Im sure the couch crowd was quick to chime in with ‘she shouldn’t
have been there’ or ‘shouldn’t have been riding at night’ or ‘riding a bike at
all’…
Im a fairly tough guy and not
much on this planet really strikes true fear in me except the unpredictability
of other human beings, and I have no explanation or answers regarding this
incident. But we each decide whether we are going to be a spectator of life or
suit up and play.
I’ll see you on the field. I hope we see this particular cyclist back out there as well.
It’s great to see you giving this post the time and attention that you did. It really is a fantastically written and provoking piece. I agree with your thoughts and appreciate you taking the time to further enhance what Suzanne put together.
Darryl
yes, I’ll definitely see you out there! (and the great news is that she is in fact out riding again, which is inspirational in itself)
Wow, that is horrible. Even though a lot of things can happen to cyclists on the road, this is something that never should happen. Why do people do stupid things like that?
I agree, that is horrible. I like that last line of your article. Yes, there is a place where the joy of riding overcomes all fears. Well said.
Thanks P. Appreciate that.
Jeff, I wish I knew. Luckily she is ok. Just makes you stop and reflect on things.