Last week I went back to New York to participate in the 5 Boro Bike Tour. This is an annual 40-mile (really 38 miles) cycling extravaganza that attracts 32,000 people who ride through all the city’s five boroughs. This is the second time I have done the ride. The weather was perfect – sunny and 60 degrees. I was supposed to ride with a couple of friends from Brooklyn, but they ended up not wanting to get up early on a Sunday morning for a 9:50 start time. So I went it alone, but you are not really alone with so many other people riding with you. I met people who traveled from all over the world to ride on the world’s largest bike tour. I finished in just under four hours, and I got a medal at the finish line! I hope to do this again next year!
I have been drinking apple cider vinegar (ACV) for years for its many health benefits. I was recently given a free bottle of GOLI, which is an ACV gummy. If you take at least two gummies a day, you apparently get what would amount to a shot of ACV. I liked the gummies because you don’t taste any bitterness you get from ACV. It’s a great option for people who can’t deal with ACV taste.
However, I decided against buying another bottle because they cost $20 each! I figured it would be cheaper to just stick to drinking one glass of warm water with a tablespoon of Bragg’s ACV and a dab of honey a day.
If you are looking for a way to keep your new year’s resolution of losing weight and get healthy, check out this video.
As I mentioned last week, I have been a cyclist all of my life and enjoyed every minute of it. However, being a black female cyclist does come with its troubles sometimes. Sometimes I get stares on the street from people who probably aren’t using to seeing someone who looks like me on a bike. Recently, I had a white guy ask me where I got my fancy, expensive-looking bike. I told him I bought it at a bike shop. But then he continued to ask where I really got the bike, implying that I may have either stolen the bike or someone gave it to me. Apparently, according to this guy, there is no way I could have bought this bike by myself!
And there have been many other microaggressions like this in my life. But cycling while Black can also have more serious consequences. According to Bicycling Magazine, Black cyclists are disproportionately pulled over by the police for suspicion or probable cause more often than their white counterparts. Some Black cyclists get arrested for minor traffic violations. In June a Black man died in custody after being arrested for cycling without a light!
Cycling has always been seen as a sport for white, privileged men. Over a hundred years ago, most cycling clubs explicitly banned people of color, women, immigrants, and the poor from joining. Also, these clubs mainly focused on those who rode bikes by choice, which were usually privileged white dudes. People of color, immigrants, and women generally had different reasons for cycling, such as for economic and social reasons. Because of this, cyclists by choice have more power and say over bike policy and infrastructure.
These inequalities can still be seen today. There are a lot of barriers to getting more people of color on bikes. One of them is simple; if you don’t see anyone who looks like you on a bike, you don’t think it is something you can do. Of course, there are other issues, like not living near bike-friendly roads, paths, or green spaces, in addition to the fear of police brutality while riding. For Black women specifically, the “whole hair issue” can be a deterrent from not wanting to ride a bike.
There have been many Black Lives Matter cycling rides in the last couple of months, and I participated in one last month. Unfortunately, there also have been police officers using their bikes against protesters. I only hope this racial reckoning the country is going through now will put more spotlight on how to make cycling more equitable for everyone.
Let’s remember there have always been Black cyclists, including Major Taylor, the first African-American sportsperson to win a World Championship. And, yes, he was a cyclist a hundred years ago!
I have always loved cycling ever since my dad bought me my bike when I was a child. My dad and I used to ride our bikes around Boston on Sunday afternoons and it gave me so much joy.
I continued cycling into adulthood but took more of an interest in running. I used to run about 30 miles a week up until a couple of years ago when I started to develop arthritis in my right hip. My doctor strongly recommended that I stop running unless I wanted to get a total hip replacement sooner rather than later.
The doctor told me that I should cycle more not only to compensate for the number of calories I would lose through running, but it is also a low-impact exercise that could help my hip. Since this pandemic started, I have relied on cycling to get around to do my shopping and other stuff as I am not too comfortable yet using public transportation. I don’t really consider myself “disabled,” even though I have to use a walking cane to get around sometimes and my arthritis will continue to be a problem for the rest of my life. Maybe my opinion on this will change as I get older. But I do appreciate this video that discusses the need for better mobility access and acceptance.
