It’s that time of year–I’ve got bronchitis. And I’m not happy about it, especially as it is seriously cutting in to my bike time! It is so, so frustrating to not be able to breathe normally and thus not be able to ride normally. Today I just couldn’t take it anymore and went for a short ride down to the coffee shop. I rode briefly on the sidewalk, and looking down at it, I realized that riding has changed what that sidewalk means. As a pedestrian, sidewalks are my safe space, and a sidewalk like this, with its mismatched slabs of concrete, has a certain charm. On my bike, though, I don’t see the slabs, but instead the seams. I need to avoid them with my tire–riding into them or even up against them. This sidewalk is a hazard. Of course, I should be riding int he street, but where in my car the street is largely safe, on my bike it’s a completely different story. I know the potholes, rivets, and waves on my regular route. I’ve got to if I’m going to stay upright on the bike. My class today talked about how many of us take for granted a free ability to move through space safely. Riding a bike completely changes one’s perspective on space; movement has to change and not all routes are safe in the same way. I want to get better. Because I miss that special bike perspective.