Rider

Ronell Toledo


From Calgary Alberta, Canada


Commutes 10 Miles RoundTrip for years and 13 months
Seven days a week, my bike is my primary transportation Year Round

It's a mix of secondary road and bike path to where I work so I ride on a smooth asphalt most of the time except for occasional potholes, however on winter it's a different story, I don't mind the path itself but the cars because they slip and skid more than I do, and most of the drivers are not as cautious to slow down and prevent accidents, heck it's Canada, what's more, bike commute here is next to - you're weird and strange...

When I came here in Canada I figured I just ride a bicycle to work as I found a job near where I lived and save my car insurance and car morgage for about a year as I'm a new immigrant here and the money I can save I can put myself back to school to upgrade my bachelor's degree to the so called Canadian standard but I've already work in Saudi Arabia as a medical professional with Briton doctors as my collegues, so it shows that I'm so stranger to English nor my academic credential(no pun intended, just ironic and frustrating). Anyhow, I found that riding a bike to commute is both fun and healthy and it's very rewarding, I used to drive a car mind you and I have a professional driver's license that means I can also drive a 10 wheeler truck from where I came from. I used to ride my bikes(road and mtb) for fun on weekends when I was young as I lived in the tropics, nice weather only sunny and rainy season which really translate to fun and more fun I supposed. Then I work in Saudi Arabia as I mentioned earlier, where I had a hiatus from my bike riding for more than 2 years, then I came here in Canada, where I found the joy of riding my bike again in the form of daily commute and primary transportation.

It's really sad that I found out that most people in North America tend to look down on people who ride their bicycles to work, they think that you're crazy for doing it and you're weird as I qoute them but I just tell them that I'm eccentric. Sad as it may seem, North Americans think that a bike is just a toy. As I ride my bike daily I come to appreciate the benefits I get from it both health and financial, and I get to relax and relieve my stress too but nothing short of adrenaline rush and feeling of euphoria all rolled into one, isn't that marvelous!!

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