{"id":13157,"date":"2015-09-30T23:09:43","date_gmt":"2015-09-30T23:09:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/?p=13157"},"modified":"2015-09-30T23:09:43","modified_gmt":"2015-09-30T23:09:43","slug":"detroit-bike-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.challengedetroit.org\/blog\/detroit-bike-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Detroit Bike City"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the three years prior to becoming a Challenge Detroit fellow, I was a Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV)\u00a0in Madagascar. These were some of the best years of my life. I learned a new language and culture, I met my girlfriend and dozens of other incredible people, and I felt like\u00a0I was genuinely making a difference in the lives of others (which is a big reason why I\u00a0became interested in Challenge Detroit).<\/p>\n

I’m sure you\u00a0can imagine how assimilating back into western culture after living in the developing world could be a struggle for anyone. PCVs often find it hard to\u00a0talk about their experiences because really surface-level conversations don’t do justice to the reality of the third world or the volunteer’s experience. On the other hand, an in-depth conversation can unintentionally come across as preachy because we just want people back home to realize how lucky we are.<\/p>\n

What a Detroiter might consider to be a major problem (either personally or politically) in his\/her life would probably be a massive improvement for someone in Madagascar. Because of that, I sometimes struggle to comfort those who come to me with certain issues. Similarly, when I<\/em>\u00a0reflect\u00a0on problems in my life, I\u00a0need to constantly remind myself of what my friends in Madagascar deal with on a daily basis.\u00a0The process\u00a0provides a good\u00a0reminder about\u00a0what is important.<\/p>\n

One of the bigger political issues in Detroit right now is that of transportation. Parking downtown is a struggle (particularly\u00a0on weekends with the influx of suburban residents traveling to the city),\u00a0the People Mover only goes to a handful of places within a few blocks of each other, the bus system is incredibly unreliable, and car insurance in Detroit is astronomically high.<\/p>\n

Compare this to Madagascar where parking, travel, car\u00a0insurance, and\u00a0transit between neighborhoods could\u00a0be an issue if<\/em> people owned cars (this is not to say no one owns cars, but the percentage of private citizens who do is extremely low).\u00a0Instead, there are taxi-brousses:\u00a0the uncomfortable, overcrowded, over-priced, dangerous,\u00a0and unreliable form of transportation that everyone must<\/em> take should they need to go anywhere. Most PCVs in my region of Madagascar rode bikes because of the less than desirable transportation conditions.<\/p>\n

I biked shorter distances\u00a0(2km)\u00a0to the local market, medium distances (12-25km)\u00a0to see other volunteers, longer distances (72km)\u00a0to attend meetings and go to the bank, and really long distances (250km) in what was one of the most memorable vacations I’ve ever been on. I loved\u00a0biking\u00a0and decided that when I returned to the states, I would try to avoid buying a car for as long as I could.<\/p>\n

\"Riding<\/a>

Riding with volunteers on\u00a0a national highway in Madagascar<\/p><\/div>\n

The reactions I have received from my American friends and my Malagasy friends have been, as you might imagine, worlds apart. I’ve sent pictures of my new bike to friends in Madagascar and they can’t stop commenting on it’s beauty,\u00a0gears, cost,\u00a0and weight. They are completely enamored with it.<\/p>\n

On the flip side,\u00a0when I tell Detroiters that I don’t have a car and that I bike everywhere I go, they usually pause for a second to process the information…..then ask…..”Why?”<\/p>\n

The simple answer is because I enjoy it. The more technical answer that I imagine more people will\u00a0identify with is that I can’t quite afford a car yet.\u00a0I’m not\u00a0that environmentally conscious, so\u00a0no need to label\u00a0me as a\u00a0good samaritan who is trying to help reduce\u00a0the carbon footprint. I don’t think\u00a0friends and family would consider me\u00a0to be\u00a0“a Peace Corps\u00a0hippie” so the fact that I like to be outside and active is just a coincidence. It’s\u00a0really just a nice way to stay active on days when your schedule is too full to devote time to exercise.<\/p>\n

To be honest, I\u00a0thought more people would\u00a0think\u00a0my\u00a0biking decision was cool\u00a0because Detroit\u00a0has become\u00a0such a bike-friendly city (ex. Slow Roll,<\/a> Tour de-Troit<\/a>,\u00a0Wheelhouse,<\/a> The Hub, and Back Alley Bikes).<\/a>\u00a0Instead, when people find out that my bike is my primary means of transportation and that I don’t have a car as an option the conversation changes to reasons why this might be a bad a idea. Some of them include:<\/p>\n