There are so many stories in Baltimore, and we’re happy to share with you our third following our series for Giving Tuesday.
Your contribution will enable us to continue advocating for improved biking infrastructure, promoting safety education, and building a more connected and equitable Baltimore for everyone.
Our third story follows Amy White, a recent Baltimore transplant who’s been living here for nearly two years and biking for the same amount. She uses her Pedego e-bike to get around the city, and she’s recently started using her analog bike during her social rides around the city.
“Learning the city on the bike makes the city seem smaller. You see neighborhoods you wouldn’t normally see.”
Car dependency can dissuade folks from using other forms of transportation within their home, especially in a place as dense as our city, but White makes do regardless of the automatons racing past her. To her, the motivation comes from her place in the community.
“[It’s the] social aspect. I work from home, so this is my outlet for meeting people.”
There’s a method to normalize cycling for all folks in the city. Whether one is a commuter, a middle-aged man in lycra, or a person who simply enjoys speaking to your friends while riding down the street on two wheels. Cycling turns heads in a city as car dependent as, unfortunately, Baltimore has become. Families, too, have replaced their own car usage by switching to an e-cargo bike for their children, and White’s noticed this on her own commutes.
“I see people take their kids [to school] on bikes. It’s great. They’re not in a queue with a bunch of cars lined up.”
Biking can be a scare, especially with all the clanker boogeymen around, but to White, it builds character.
“The e-bike gave me more confidence…it gave me the ability to know where I was going.”
On your next ride, whether it be a car commute, a bus ride, a walk down the street, look around your surroundings and ponder on the possibilities of a different, denser Baltimore, filled with people interacting beside each other in an open space rather than at a distance, inside a steel cage. And if you fancy riding a bike someday, remember these guiding words from White:
“Be prepared!”
Bikemore actively works to advocate for a better city, a city that isn’t covered in the smog of an exhaust pipe or the rolling coal of a compensating truck driver. Our work at Bikemore isn’t just about pushing policies that ensure the safety of pedestrians: we ultimately want a city that’s connected and fluid for all residents, regardless of your mode of transport.