Letter to the Editor: Sacrifice speed for sustainability

If somebody had warned me that riding a bicycle five miles back and forth in one day can cause soreness, I would have had second thoughts on attempting it. But I haven’t been the kind of person who really listens. I do what I think I can do, disregarding certain facts about whether I actually can do it or not. It’s confusing, but that’s the norm.

I decided that maybe I need to consider style over speed when it came to debating bicycle vs. car.

I thought of the people who ride bicycles with pomp and style in Europe to get around the city, and then I thought of the people who ride the tricycles in NYC. Then, I thought of people in India and China who use bicycles as their main mode of transportation for miles, and here I am driving my Honda back and forth paying $3.35/gallon.

Sometimes it is worth looking at the other side of the world to find out how people are living there. Their lifestyle, their spending and saving habits, and, by all means, their outlook on life.

The U.S. seems to have lost itself in a “stressful” world. Everyone in the U.S. seems stressed out in some way or another, or maybe that is just life, I don’t know. What I do know is that people can do something about it.

Spending quality time with your family and friends, eating healthy foods, exercising and laughing a lot are a few things that can help a person feel better both emotionally and physically.

As for me, I decided to ride a bike from Ewing to the Lawrenceville campus. It was not that I had an epiphany, woke up one morning and said, “Let’s go biking.” I actually put some thought into it and said to myself, maybe it will take me 35 to 40 minutes to get there, maybe I will be tired and exhausted by the time I get on campus, but if I stick to the plan my body will get healthier and I will feel better.

I went to Wal-Mart and bought a bike. On Monday morning I started my journey. I came out of Central Avenue, rode the hill behind The College of New Jersey, passed the graveyard on Eggerts Crossing (that road needs pathways and lights), cut through Eggerts Crossing and entered at the South Entrance gate.

I probably had to stop two or three times to get some air, but, overall, I think it was a nice experience to leave the clutch and gear for a bit and take up riding old school.

I encourage people to ride bicycles with their family and friends as a recreational activity in the summer and, for those who already have a job after graduation, try to find an apartment closer to work so that you can bike to work; it will save you a lot of money that you can probably use to invest for the future.

I’ll try to find Lance Armstrong’s sticker for my bike. LIVE STRONG.

— Sukhi Bedi
OIT Help Desk Specialist