Bike Ride, Don't Divide

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.