Thanks to my bike, I began to assume Yes. Yes, I can go. Yes, I will get there. Yes I will deal with the problems. Yes, I took these things for granted, and yes I began to assume that I had a right to move freely through the world. I don’t regret this arrogance.

Being on a bike in my family was really not a choice. I was immersed in the same way a child is submerged in language. My education was as thorough as any fanatic could ever hope to produce –– perhaps not with the rigidity of the madrasa, but with the absolute thoroughness of any cult.