Believe in the power of the bicycle

I found religion on my 60th birthday. Oh, sit back down and let me explain. For my 60th birthday, I decided that I would host a Tweed Ride out to Safety Harbor and have an ever-so-genteel lunch at the Spa. It was delightful. A lovely day all around. As we rode up Safety Harbor’s Bayshore Trail along Old Tampa Bay, toward the marina and the Spa, the thought occurred to me that people might mistake us for members of some old-school religion. Mennonites, perhaps. We were riding antique black bicycles and were dressed (rather conservatively) as one might have dressed for a bicycle ride in England in 1935. I was wearing knickers and knee socks, a long sleeve shirt, vest and bow tie. The Lovely JoAnn exuded an equally vintage charm. That is to say, we looked like a couple of odd ducks on old bikes. It had to mean something, right? I told JoAnn what I had thought, and she said, no, we were not Mennonites. We are Veloists. We believe in Veloism. And by Ignaz, I think she’s right!

In this politically correct world in which we live these days, it’s considered bad form to ask one’s religion, age or political persuasion, so it probably won’t come up in polite conversation, but, should anyone ask, I now have an answer to the question, “What am I?” I am a Veloist. I believe in Veloism. I believe in the power of the bicycle. Always have. Always will.

H. G. Wells famously said that he did not despair for the human race when he saw an adult on a bicycle. Wells was a Veloist, and I understand that. I feel at my best when I am off on a wheel, as they say, touring around town and seeing the world from the exalted position of a bicycle seat. I really do feel better when I am on a bike, and I feel as though I am a better person for riding; physically, mentally and emotionally. I believe in the bike. I believe in the power of the bike to make me that better person. So help me Schwinn. (And can I get a “Campagnolo!” from the congregation?)

At a modest pace, the bicycle allows you to burn about 400 calories and hour, so yes, there are most certainly concrete physical reasons why the bicycle makes you feel so good. Exercise releases endorphins that give you that “runner’s high” as you ride, so yes, we can quantify that good feeling you get when you ride your bike. Still, there’s more to it than that. On a bicycle, you are part of the world around you, as opposed to being sealed off and removed from the world around you in a car. You are as one with the earth. How Zen-like. Um, make that how Velo-like.

As oil supplies get tight in the years ahead, I expect to see more and more people, more and more Americans, anyway, discover the simple joys of Veloism, whether they want to or not. Yes, I know many of you will be dragged there kicking and screaming all the way. Funny thing about that: Oil is often referred to as an addiction. I’ve never heard of anyone talking about Petroleumism. One’s reliance on oil to answer all needs is seen as a bad thing, while the Veloist is merely seen as a happy kook. Well, for now. I hope to see that change in the years ahead, and we may see Veloism go mainstream.

When gas prices spiked to over $4.00 a gallon back in 2008, people were starting to take me rather seriously. I could have made a lot of converts to Veloism, and maybe did make one or two. I’d wheel my bike into the elevator, and the polite questions would begin: How far? How fast? What about rain? Dogs? Hills? As a devout Veloist, I answered every question. I hope it helped people see the bicycle light.

Maybe I need to work on this. Flesh it out a bit. Maybe write a book on the subject. The funny thing is, I abdicated my claim to the obvious title of that book when I saw another cyclist lay claim to it. Grant Petersen, out at Rivendell Bicycle Works, came up with the same word I coined at about the same time I did: Velosophy. It’s a grand and wonderful word, and I told him he could have it. I knew I didn’t really need it, and another word would come along, all in good time. And it did. While velosophy explores the philosophy of the bicycle, veloism raises it to a (tax-exempt) religious status. Or maybe not.

Let me say right here, in writing, that I have absolutely no intention of pursuing Veloism as a legal, tax-exempt real religion. That would be wrong, and require the filling out of far too many forms. But I do lay claim to “Veloist” and “Veloism” to describe the religious relationship of people and their bicycles, even if it was JoAnn that coined the phrases originally. I claim them on her behalf. How’s that? Oh, and this is Blog #42, the perfect one to explore the meaning of life, the universe and everything. As it turns out, the answer might not be “42”. The answer might be “Go ride your bike.” The answer might be Veloism.

Habeas sentiari bike fatigat. That’s “Keep your bike tires pumped” in Latin. Have I got a cool religion or what?

Ignaz says go ride your bike.