Essay: On the Sign of Our Time
Photo courtesy of Mike Maney Photography. Be sure to check out his work; he is a fellow cyclist in the Bucks County cycling community with multiple KOMs to his name.
(2020) Initially this was to be an exploratory piece to avoid the doom and gloom headlines. It was supposed to be an essay that stated of all the times in history, access to digital media has made it easier to cope. It felt good to write a couple of paragraphs, especially considering the road bike has only seen the road between garage door winkings. But then it was scrapped.
Instead of a selection highlighting the triumphs of digital media encouraging us to stay indoors, a moment of clarity intervened to suggest that not all those adhering to the indoor directives have access to it. One needs to look no further than the sold out indoor trainers during this period in time. People are encouraged (some ordered by law) to remain indoors, but some missed the chance at swiping a device perfect for these difficult days. Our thoughts spiraled to more difficult matters than missing out on bike trainers.
We began to turn our thoughts to people living in difficult scenarios in general. There are people out there who are stocking shelves, driving freight across country, and - most importantly - working on the front lines to protect us from this virus and ourselves. Some of those citizens choose to keep the country moving forward, forgoing the ability to interact with their family physically and emotionally. Suddenly this piece celebrating the digital kingdom instantly turned trivial; the frustration of the inability to ride outside bordered on downright tantruming when compared to those who are sacrificing much more.
What has served as the backbone of creakybottombracket.com has been shuttered for the time being: Rides we like? Though ones have been solo prior to this pandemic, they are ordered to be now if at all. Stops we love? Almost all of them are closed. Events? Hardly. Reviews? Many of the companies have shut down; many citizens have lost financial flow to consider purchase power. Shops we like? Some have argued they are essential while others have closed. All of this defeats the purpose of a visit when we must extend our personal bubble to six feet. It pales in comparison, though, to what is being asked of those daily heroes who are working right now to protect us. Thinking of them is more important than celebrating the digital lifestyle.
It is important to mark this time in history on the site to remind ourselves that, when time improves, we never forget what was taken for granted. It is important to acknowledge that group rides are a luxury. Nights with friends are a gift. And most importantly, when this is all over, we got there because a handful of citizens who had the passion to be doctors, nurses, and therapists were leaned on to bend, but never broke. It does not matter that the Wednesday Night World Group Ride has been canceled indefinitely when doctors, nurses, and therapists are starting their second shift in a row to help a population. And we will leave it at that.
