Beautiful Struggle

This morning I decided to take the scenic route to school on the Surly, in its present fixed state (which I might add, is oh so perfect for the winter). My scenic route takes me directly toward the mountain. For most of the way, I travel with the one-way traffic West. Then, at St.Laurent, the flow reverses, and I am forced to pedal upstream for about ten blocks. Once I hit the fresh snow - off the road and into the park, once continuous, now cleaved by Parc Avenue - I feel I am in for some work. It is too warm to roll fast; it is three inches deep and it feels like deep grass. Once on the dirt road that snakes up the mountain, I am forced to choose between oozing resistance and faster bone-rattling footprints. I choose the smooth sections an labour away to my music specifically chosen for the task: Tibetan Incantations, an album of chant my mom gave Danielle and me for Christmas. It helps, a lot. I decide to take the switchback turn off toward McGill instead of going all the way to the top and looping around. Good choice. The switchbacks are fun. I pedal through the turns and manage to stay off the brakes. Tough, but fun. My bike is covered in snow as I find myself back to the road. Now, I must ride down MacTavish, a super steep street (probably 12-13%) down to school. I use my brakes, and my legs. It is hard even on dry days. I would NEVER ride fixed without at least one brake, NEVER.

This reminds me of the documentary, Pedal, Mark lent me over Christmas. It is about bike messengers in New York. It is very interesting. Among other things, it illustrates how factions of the american population are criminalized for the manner in which they support the functioning of capitalism - through their transport of information at a low cost. Breaking traffic laws is necessary for couriers to earn anything approaching a sustainable income - the price of each job is too low for them to follow the rules. Low transport costs are necessary for the flow of information that constitutes capitalism. Police target couriers as the under class, and punish them for the manner in which they carry out their work...