Write your transportation history - Think about the various modes of transportation that you've used in your life at different times and places. How do your experiences with these modes affect your perception of the world, your community, etc.? Have you had pivotal moments on buses, bike rides, car trips, etc. that have changed how you see the world?
Where I am from in Southern California, riding a bicycle around as a regular form of transportation was very rare. Now it is getting much more prominent and even stubborn cities are beginning to put in bike lanes. I live in the mountains and went to school in the valley below where a lot of my friends got cars and started driving during, or right after high school. I was always driven everywhere throughout my whole life (except a few instances with walking), because I always seemed to be able to catch a ride. I always enjoyed riding bikes for fun, but didn’t see how anyone could use them to get around on a daily basis for a long time.
When I got older, I couldn’t get a car and taking the bus did not sound ideal (everyone I knew who had used the bus system said that it needed a lot of work), but my older brother always rode his bike everywhere he could. For a while, I thought that he just did it because he raced bikes all the time and he lived in San Diego and that I wouldn’t be able to do it. But I got into it because I was interested in trying a road bike as I had always had mountain bikes. I bought an old road bike at a thrift store and I learned that there was so much about bikes in general that I didn’t know. They didn’t just have to be objects used for special occasions like “bike rides”. They have been for a long time, and still are the main form of transport for many people. In high school, I would get a ride up and down the mountain and ride my bike to school most days out of the week.
Now, riding bikes is a huge part of who I am. I ride for transportation and recreation. I am really happy and surprised when I go home and see that a lot of the roads are being repaved and painted with bike lanes (I wish they would have done that before I moved away, but at least they’re there now). Ever since coming to UCSC and joining the bike co-op, I have been riding everywhere. From now going forward I hope to ride my bike as often as I can. I still don’t have a car and have to get rides from people sometimes. Obviously, you can’t use bikes for everything, but I believe they are beneficial for the rider and everyone else.
Riding goes along with my goal of being more sustainable and I see it as a way to change communities and make them more sustainable too. It feels good to be able to go somewhere quickly without having to have a car.
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