This morning, I didn’t wake up at 5am and force-feed myself a delicious breakfast while ignoring the protests of my sleepy, full stomach. I wasn’t surrounded by 20 awesome people wiping the sleep from their eyes and preparing to bike through eastern Ohio and western Pennsylvania despite pleas from their tired bodies.

There were no conversations (while pedaling past fields, trees, and small towns) about how our religious communities have shaped our lives, how fears have prevented us from fully loving, and how we can take steps to realize our vision for a just and peaceful world by working with the current social and economic structures.

I didn’t race down a hill, hitting nearly 50 mph…on my bicycle.

I didn’t ride a century.

But yesterday I did.

This morning I woke up (at 9am) in Pittsburgh, and had good conversations with one of my awesome hosts, Christie Benner. I went for an 80-minute run through the city, trying to soak in the new sights and reflect on the awesome conversations and camaraderie I experienced the past two days. (I had intended to run for 40-60 minutes, but I was filled with a sense of adventure, excited to explore the city, and I felt like I could do anything after completing my first century.) Downtown Pittsburgh at lunchtime was packed with J-walking pedestrians crowding all the sidewalks and fluidly weaving between the flow of car traffic. I felt a sense of love for all these strangers, but I also felt a sense of intimidation at the huge task of creating a community where all of us, with all our different needs and interests, feel loved and empowered. But like any daunting task, I know we have to start with baby steps. In this case, that means starting with our smaller communities, and building outward.

So, as I part from my bikemovement family and travel back to my home and work in Nashville, I am anxious to bring the ideas and visions that were pondered and actualized in the bikemovement community into my own communities at home (and everywhere I go.) It’s not always easy to foster the atmosphere of inclusiveness, openness, and honest conversation that was such and integral part of this group. It’s really hard when it seems like people are only trying to secure wealth or power for themselves, even at the expense of others. But we can foster empathy for each other through open dialogue and inclusive communities. Honest dialogue within communities will help strengthen us as individuals, while honest dialogue between communities will help strengthen us as a family of humans, working together in pursuit of justice and love.

Posted by Angeline Cione

This entry was posted on Monday, August 21st, 2006 at 10:07 am and is filed under Trip06. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.