Since starting to bike to work in the Washington DC area, cycling has become my favorite way to experience my community outside of an automobile. It is my time to deeply breathe the air (clean or not), and feel my body as an active part of my mobility and transportation. I feel the road beneath my wheels, and draw a connection with my community in a more visceral way than prior to being a cyclist.
Whether in good weather or pedaling against the wind and rain, my connection to my environment has been a crucial relationship that informs my spirituality and experience of larger powers. In my hometown of Cleveland, Critical Mass is a communal ride held on the last Friday of the month at Public Square. I consider it aptly named, as a public gathering and celebration of cycling in our community, as one of the cleanest and healthiest ways for large amounts of people to get around. We encourage safety as we cycle together. As a board member of my local Heights Bicycle Coalition, I suggested that
Ohioans for Sustainable Changefollow an example partnership between California OFSC and the San Francisco Bike Coalition.
I want to ask our members and people of faith in our statewide bike groups how they congregate with their faith communities. How can cycling be one more way of coming together and enjoying Creation, while making an active transportation decision that promotes clean air and safety in our public spaces?
–Akshai Singh, OFSC Communications Assistant