"Public life enlarges you, gives you purpose and context, saves you from drowning in the purely personal"
It could be our own city's Critical Mass, but instead of every last Friday of the month, Jumat Bersepeda is organized every Friday, every other week, by Bandung Transportation Agency.
People would come together at the starting point (usually Taman Veteran), and they would start biking around the city through the dense morning traffic of Bandung, reclaiming the streets from frustrated motorists.
It was my first time riding in a group of people who love cycling as much as I do. Most of them are adults in their 40 - 50s (?) and there are people my age. Well, around my age. I knew that it was inevitable that I gotta start or make conversation (which is not my strong suit given my introversion), and I found that it was easier to initiate it with someone older. So when I got to the starting point, the first person I made conversation with was this middle aged man in the blue parachute vest. Eventually, he introduced me to younger participants whose names I already forgot.
It was a great experience. It was a procession that made me feel more connected to my city, as a citizen sharing public spaces with other citizens. By the end of the event, I made a friend or three, or four?
Either way, expect more stories like this in the coming days.
