The Pope is pro-bicycling!

[Lady Smith]

Alright yes I know it's not really a transgender issue, but I was delighted to read recently that the Pope addressed a group of new priests and religious and advised them to ride bicycles instead of driving around in flashy cars.  As a keen cyclist myself I just about danced around the room after reading that.
This is yet another indication to me that Pope Francis is much more concerned with ordinary human interactions and simple contacts and access to the Church than his predecessors.  It makes me very hopeful for the future.

I don't own a car, I have a cargo tricycle and a bicycle instead.  What I find is riding bicycles makes me much more accessible to the community in which I live in.  It's easy for folk to stop me and talk to me and to my mind that's what being a Religious is all about.  If I whizzed about in a car I'd never get the same opportunities to meet and talk to people and of course the other benefit is getting useful exercise.
Due to CFS/ME I walk with a stick, but I have no problems with riding a bike which does tend to make people scratch their heads a bit when I get off my bicycle and unpack my walking stick before walking away from my bike.

[Joelene9]

  This is a good thing. I own 2 bicycles and haven't rode either one in over a decade due to the neighborhood drivers are not kind to adult cyclists and the onset of my peripheral neuropathy that causes extreme burning pain to the ankles and feet if I rotate them as you would do on the pedals. I used to go to school and then later to work every day, no matter the weather. I didn't get a motor vehicle license until I was 38. I would sure like to get back on the bike again though.

Joelene

[SarahMarie1987]

Alright yes I know it's not really a transgender issue, but I was delighted to read recently that the Pope addressed a group of new priests and religious and advised them to ride bicycles instead of driving around in flashy cars.  As a keen cyclist myself I just about danced around the room after reading that.
This is yet another indication to me that Pope Francis is much more concerned with ordinary human interactions and simple contacts and access to the Church than his predecessors.  It makes me very hopeful for the future.

I don't own a car, I have a cargo tricycle and a bicycle instead.  What I find is riding bicycles makes me much more accessible to the community in which I live in.  It's easy for folk to stop me and talk to me and to my mind that's what being a Religious is all about.  If I whizzed about in a car I'd never get the same opportunities to meet and talk to people and of course the other benefit is getting useful exercise.
Due to CFS/ME I walk with a stick, but I have no problems with riding a bike which does tend to make people scratch their heads a bit when I get off my bicycle and unpack my walking stick before walking away from my bike.

I have mild to moderate cerebral palsy. So I cannot drive a car. Hence riding my bicycle around a lot. Although where I am (southern New Jersey, out in the suburbs) it is a little hard to get around by a bicycle. Since a lot of roads are not equipped to handle bicycle traffic. But some areas are getting better!

And I totally agree about having the time to appreciate things and meet people when you are not in a car. I understand what you mean by missing out on things. :-)