A couple
of weeks ago on a Friday evening a few boys and I participated in an excellent
event in Beirut. A local bike rental
company offered up its services for open-invite charity ride. For a few dollars (all of which went to a
local food distribution charity) participants got a fine bike, helmet and over two hours of organized riding through Beirut. We went as a group over 450 riders, making
our way through the streets to different stops in the city.
Beirut
has been known for its deathly explosions these days, but this event defied the
fear and reservation many have about the city.
Some people may want to use destruction and death as a means to some
undefined end, but many more want to simply live in a society of stability and
respect. For one evening, a form of
stability and respect went to the streets.
It was a
great atmosphere. Everyone was courteous
and kind to one another. Each organizer and participant was mindful to make it
a positive experience for all involved, including the bystanders who were surprised
by the sight of hundreds of bikers rolling by.
It was casual, carefree, and most certainly uplifting.
There’s
a certain energy about being part of a big group and participating in something
together. It swells an exciting spirit
within us. We’re seen in the last few
years how gathering masses can bring about sweeping changes, for better or for
worse. I felt the potential force of a
mass, a mob!, as I rode alongside hundreds of others through Beirut’s
streets. We dominated the spaces we
passed through as traffic yielded to our force.
There was part of me wanted a cause, a common purpose to rally this
group of strangers together to form a single unit. Then I realized that we were participating
for a cause: strangers being together.
The goal was not to advance anything in particular, but rather to share
an experience together. I have no idea
who the other 450 riders were. I don’t
know their religion, political affiliations, nationalities, or social status. But I do know that we shared an experience. In the midst of a situation that threatens
people to divide, a brief moment of peopling uniting can be a powerful
symbol. Maybe we all just need the
opportunity to spend time on bikes together.
