Thinking outside the (metal) box...

Hi all! This is Celia - co-founder and food guru of Wild Heart Cycling, and one of our guides when I can break free of the shackles that bind me to my desk. When I'm home in Bend I try to do all of my errands by bike. Until recently, I was doing a mix of bike and car -- using the car when I felt exhausted or had unwieldy items to carry home. But lately I've been able to ride almost exclusively, which is very satisfying. I've been discovering that my trusty Burley trailer, so efficient on a bike tour, can carry just about anything I need to lug around town. Beyond the positive environmental impact and effect on my fitness level, I've been noticing something else. I'm starting to realize how isolating, impersonal and anonymous car travel is. I've begun to wonder if, in the sixty or so years since cars became ubiquitous in our society, there hasn't been a subtle, ongoing shift in how people observe the world and interact with each other. For instance, when you drive downtown, you might possibly wave at someone in another car, but you're hardly likely to shout hello, much less exchange greetings or stop for a conversation. On the other hand, if you're cruising by on a bike, you're much more likely to at least say hello (or possibly "LOOK OUT!" if someone skateboards into your path!). I get a kick out of checking out other people's bikes and incongruous biking garb, too, and chatting with other cyclists as I'm parking my bike. I find myself noticing more, too -- from the smell of backyard barbeques, to what the neighbors have planted in their garden, to the funny dog someone's walking. Things I would miss driving around. And I catch myself feeling...happy. The same curiously happy feeling came over me on the last Wallowa tour, as I was stopping and taking pictures. George Orwell captured it: "the sort of feeling of wonder, the peculiar flame inside you," and wondered "why don't people, instead of the idiocies they do spend their time on, just walk around looking at things?" It's a big, fun world out there -- don't miss it by locking yourself up in a metal and glass box! Get out and travel by bike, whether it's on a great bike tour with us or a trip down to the store!