Confessions of a dental student cyclist

I enjoyed attending the Music and Worship Leaders' Retreat in Laurelville, PA. Some insights gained in discerning the message that the 21st century church needs to hear: Humility is a life stance before God, the fruits of which are mercy and justice (reflecting our humility before all creation and our part within and alongside it, just as Christ once came to dwell with us). The opposite of faith is not doubt but rather certainty...embracing the gift of uncertainty allows us to move towards humility by faith (which is synonymous with risk: that vulnerability of relating our true selves with, as a part of, and alongside our Creator and His creation).

As the weather has gotten colder and occasionally snowy, I've thought about why I continue to ride my bicycle. I've been surprised at how comprehensively the decision affects so many aspects of my daily life. I'm glad to confirm that it's so much more than inertia that keeps me on my bike and will share my findings.

Byrd Lake has become one of my favorite landmarks along the daily commute. Stopping to take in the sunset after a busy week, I marveled at the ducks splashing on the forefront while the interstate buzzed in the background...Richmond has very quickly become my home. Cherishing the quiet moment and the mystery of peace that guards our hearts, a verse came to mind: The Lord is in His holy temple; let everyone on earth be silent in His presence (Habakkuk 2:20)

Convenience

When I first moved to Richmond in May 2012, I decided that I would attempt to adhere to the cycling habits that I’d developed during my final semester at EMU. Having lived the preceding four months without a car while on an internship in Latin America, I did not need convincing to evade the traffic and parking patterns of the city. I quickly appreciated the conveniences of yielding on red lights to avoid standing still in traffic and parking my bike adjacent to nearly every building rather than paying for parking blocks away from my destination. It had become easy to explain why I was so committed to commuting to school on bike.

 

Meeting the sunrise from a cozy lobby at a CMDA conference at Sandy Cove in Maryland...I hadn't anticipated how much I needed an encouraging reminder amongst colleagues that I am a Christian who happens to be a dental student--not the other way around.

Stewardship

As I entered the academic year and found less time to take a swim at the aquatic center or jog around my neighborhood, I realized that my mode of transportation enabled me to maintain some sort of regular exercise routine. When I notice myself panting as I rush up a hill, I consider how much sleep I’ve gotten, if I should make any dietary adjustments that might affect my health, or if I’d just gotten 'out of shape' over the weekend; I’m not sure that I would otherwise be prompted as often to consider how responsibly I care for my body if I didn't have to peddle up those hilly streets. Whether I take an unintentional whiff of car exhaust or feel raindrops tattering on my half-closed eyelids, I evaluate how am I respecting and caring for the creation around me. The speed of my daily commute allows me to take note of seasonal changes in the trees, lake, and occasional animals. I’ve appreciated this time for grounding myself in experiencing the natural course of things regardless of what might be happening in the realm of my little world, to which it is so easy to remain confined. Even if I don’t move beyond the circuitous experiences of the day’s business, I am able to pace my sorting to the intentional cadence of pedaling, often pausing the mental organization altogether to simply focus on the rhythm of cycling.

 

My father's desk wonderfully displays the integration of his seminary training and that in electrical engineering. I think I see a children's book, too...I wonder what combination of items I'll find on my book shelves someday

Solidarity

Several weeks after starting to discover Richmond on bike, I came to realize that I was less separated from the surroundings that rode past than if I was driving a car; that is, I was more likely to notice and often greet those on the sidewalks or gathered in front of buildings. Observing a different demographic of people along my route at various times of the day, I am coming to appreciate how a community fits together even if it is not conscious of or denies any direct links between its diverse parts. Occasionally feeling my sympathetic nervous system kicking into 'fight or flight' response at the encounter of a situation that I don't know quite what to expect from, or recently questioning how preposterous it must look to be riding in the snow, slush and ice, I have arrived at an alibi for my stubborn naivety: If there are those who don't have a choice but to walk or cycle to get around or must live and sleep in the streets, there is no reason why I should shy away from a daily commute of a meager ten-mile roundtrip. Especially when I cringe at how incompatible my life currently is with addressing various social injustices, I joyfully attribute my motivation for a commitment to cycling as a way of maintaining solidarity with individuals that may not have had the opportunities that I've been presented with. I hope that this awareness will allow me to continue setting up my life in a way that directly addresses injustices that I am currently not ready to respond to.

A wintery way home as the snow came into town...my shed-dwelling hybrid bike came in handy once the snow either froze over or became slushy the next morning.

I look forward to sharing about a service trip to El Salvador and attending the American Association for Dental Research meeting to present on microbiological research that I've been involved in during the past two summers. Until then, I'm diving under as the semester continues to gain momentum.

The School of Pharmacy has great views into East Richmond (had been reportedly better before the hospital expanded). The Museum of the Confederacy (shadowed roof in the lower right corner) continues to be cornered in with additional expansions on the concentrated medical campus...it makes for a fairly cozy place to pursue rigorous healthcare training.