Riding for a Cause
Reasons for hope in dark times
Today’s entry is a little bit about bike riding, but also a little bit about something else. Today is June 1st, the first day of Pride Month. In the past, I haven’t paid too much attention to Pride Month. I have never participated or really observed it. I appreciated its existence, but never stepped into the arena, so to speak.
But that changes today. I am now the proud mother of a LGBTQ child. Information that was heretofore unbeknownst to me. While it’s taken me some time to process this information, I’m not mad or sad about it. I just wish I had known sooner. And I wish to all things good and holy that I had been a better ally before now.
Being an ally to the LGBTQ community is really important. And I can see that now. Being an ally means that you will stand up for this population’s rights and not just stand by and watch things unfold. To be clear, I have never been anti-LBGTQ. But I have been happy enough to stand by and be a silent supporter, which it turns out, is not really much of a supporter at all. They say that our kids are our greatest teachers and it’s certainly true that both of my kids have opened my eyes to so many things I was blind to before.
So what does this have to do with bike riding and the spirit of the blog? SO MUCH!! Today, I began the 52-mile Pride Ride Challenge! It’s so perfect. I can log my bike riding miles any time throughout the month of June and solicit donations for the Trevor Project, which is a non-profit advocating for the LBGTQ community. Their main mission is to offer crisis support services to youth. Sad fact from their web site: “LGBTQ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers (Johns et al., 2019; Johns et al., 2020).” Additionally, a survey the Trevor Project did in 2022 found that “45% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year…” 45%!!!! That is a staggering percentage! And that is not even including transgender and non-binary youth. That number is EVEN HIGHER!
Knowing that these populations are in such pain and danger means I can no longer stand by silently. I feel the need to contribute somewhere and not just within the confines of my home and insular family. Seeing certain legislation being passed or proposed in pockets of our country is truly frightening and also helping me realize the need to take action.
So this Pride Ride 52-mile challenge could not have come at a better time. What better way to kick of Pride Month than with a fun incentive to get outside and put some miles on the bike? Today’s ride was just a quick 5 1/2 miles before it can rain again. (Oh, the mosquitoes!) And it was quite prophetic that as I was leaving the neighborhood, I was greeted by this:
One reason this image is significant is because that for many months, this house has flown an all-black U.S. flag, which is largely believed to be a symbol of the confederacy and tacitly signifies “take no prisoners”. Meaning, if they disagree with your beliefs they would rather kill you than find common ground. For months I wanted to put an anonymous note on their mailbox saying that their flag is sowing fear and distrust in the neighborhood. I heard about two of my neighbors discussing this flag and both with equal concern. And before anyone jumps to any sweeping generalizations, one of them is quite conservative and is known to have some flags of his own!
Seeing this flag on this particular flagpole just as I lit off on this Pride Ride on this first day of Pride Month brought me a renewed sense of hope that maybe people are inherently good and capable of change. Or maybe that we commonly misjudge people when we lack information.
At any rate, I AM going to put an anonymous note on their mailbox and this is what it will say:
Dear Neighbor:
Thank you for your flag! I saw it just as I embarked on the 52-mile Pride Ride Challenge to raise money and awareness for LGBTQ youth. It made me so happy to see this symbol of love and acceptance. I pedaled with a smile thinking that where once I feared a foe, there is actually a friend. Thank you for being an ally!
Happy Pride Month, everybody! I’m going out now to buy a flag.
Here’s a song for my sweet kiddo. I love you and will always stand by you!
To learn more or to support The Trevor Project, please click here!
What a perfect way you found to show support! <3 I love the story about your neighbor's flag and the note you left them. Maybe they had no idea about that particular cultural meaning of the black flag. Maybe they are anarchists or...pirates?