“When riding a bike, I am much more aware of the fact that I am living in a community of other people. I am much more inclined to smile and even wave to other pedestrians or cyclists when I am riding. This sense of connection to others works to some extent with people who are like me as well as people who are quite different from me culturally or socioeconomically.”
You don’t have to be religious or even spiritual to feel this. It’s the same for atheists too. In fact it seems to be a pretty secular point of view because everyone is just a person with no labels (christian, jew, etc…), other than bicyclist or pedestrian. It’s just about seeing the people in the community and not what style of steel and glass they decide to wrap themselves in.
Seems similar to how communities open up when police get out of their cars by foot or bike, get to know the people they’re charged with serving and protecting.
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