Welcome to Unsquished, a blog about the perils of cycling in a large Southern metropolis.
Why a new cycling blog and what sort of cycling blog is this?
It’s true that the world probably doesn’t need a new blog, let alone a new blog about cycling. However, as a bike commuter I need to rant, if only to recover from my many brushes with gasoline-propelled death. And as a cyclist, I need to write pedantic entries about bikes, gear, changing inner tubes, the bad behaviour of motorists, mileage stats and the constant battle between enthusiasm and apathy. But don’t be put off by all that. Unsquished will attempt to delight and edify by chronicling the perils of urban commuting in a city that’s alternately surprisingly friendly and alarmingly hostile towards cyclists.
A word, too, on the hierarchies of cycling: I have no idea how hardcore I am as a cyclist. And I try not to care (though I often fail). While I take pride in my mileage (and how little gas I buy) I cycle a paltry distance by the standards of some people. My commute is 15 miles, round-trip. But because I work partly from home, I usually do this only three times a week or so. Sometimes less, sometimes more. With, perhaps, a 25 mile ride thrown in on weekends. I’m aiming for about 200 miles a month, which is probably a lot for some people and hardly anything to others. I don’t always reach that, and I’ve never ridden more than 30 miles in one go. Pathetic or laudable? You be the judge.
My point? Whether you ride half a mile to work once a week or are working on a century, you’re a cyclist and cycling is inherently good and wonderful. In propelling yourself under your own steam, be it across the country or just to the pub, you’re using a beautiful piece of technology, consuming no fossil fuels and emitting only your own exhalations (maybe more, depending on what you had for lunch). This blog intends to revel in the inherent dignity of cycling, a dignity that persists not matter how sweaty one gets.
I leave the last word (for this entry, anyway) to Iris Murdoch:
“The bicycle is the most civilised conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart.”
