Just ride.

Treat it like breathing.

Guy Martin looks pleased at this stable of bikes.

Nearly two decades ago, my family ran a boutique bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio. We catered to the off-kilter cyclist, eschewed racing and promoted riding for riding’s sake. In 2003 I hung a simple framed credo to remind myself and others what it truly meant to be a cyclist; reading it now on the garage wall, I realize how it applies to motorcycling:

Ride.

Cycles Gaansari exists to keep the community’s wheels turning. Your bicycling enjoyment is our responsibility.

We offer sound advice, dependable maintenance, reliable gear, and a unified voice to the local government concerning your rights as a tax-paying bicycler.

Bicycling, in our humble opinion, is God’s second greatest gift to man. Bicycles are not toys, they are human-powered vehicles, from which the automobile, motorcycle, and airplane were derived. Ford, Harley-Davidson and Boeing can thank the bicycle for igniting the transportation boom of the early 1900s.

Bicycles are for everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status, age and gender. We know more people with little money to their name who’ve chosen the bicycle as a tool versus a status symbol, and their lives are better for that choice.

Ride always. Ride to work. Ride to the grocery store. Ride to school. Ride to the library. Ride to church. Ride to the coffee shop. Ride, ride, ride.

We closed the shop and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in early summer 2006. We carried and applied this credo out west, discovering some of the best SF had to offer from the saddle.

When riding becomes a natural extension of one’s daily fabric, it seamlessly slots in as something one typically does without a second thought, like breathing or kissing a loved one in the morning.

A few years ago, Jean asked if we could organize a no-pressure motorcycle social club to meet at Red Rock Coffee. Taking inspiration from popular motorcycling journalist Peter Egan, the first ride in late August 2017 attracted five devotees. Our destination was the La Placa Family Bakery in Ben Lomond, nestled among the Santa Cruz mountain redwoods. Since then the group has expanded, and we continue to attract newer riders, transplants to the Bay Area from all around the world, plus seasoned riders looking for simple pleasure. Dozens have discovered how enjoyable the roads are around here, and they didn’t have to do it alone.

Everyone’s daily routine has been disrupted mightily in 2020, with no real end to the chaos in sight. Don’t let that keep you off the bike! What remains true, however, is riding. Don’t look back on these trying times and wish you would’ve spent more time on the bike. Can you think of a more appropriate social distancing exercise?