Hi! I'm Chris!

I'm a grad student currently doing research exploring the different ways to define and identify environmental and air quality disparities among racial/ethnic groups within the US. As someone with a strong passion for social and environmental justice, I'm really excited to be biking for Bikes not Bombs.

Biking around Boston/Cambridge has really expanded how I view and understand community in ways I had not expected at all. I was initially so excited to get a bike because I felt like I finally had the agency to easily/cheaply meet the people I care for. While biking had met this expectation, it has also transformed my perception of the city. Recently while biking to Wollaston Beach, I was able to pass through Dorchester and catch a glimpse of the vibrant Vietnamese community that I never knew was there. Similarly if I had not biked to the Arnold Arboretum, I would not have known that Hyde square was home to Boston’s Latin Quarter. Places that I would normally quickly pass by while taking public transportation are now places I really want to go.

oh oh~ COMMUNITY GARDENS~ When I would only take the bus and T, I never noticed how many community gardens existed in Cambridge and it has made me SO SO happy to catch glimpses of the vegetables people were growing, passing by schools with parents dragging their kids in the morning, parks with people playing in the fountain, THE DOGGOS SO MANY DOGGOS. For me, biking has really stopped being only a mode of transportation to get from point A to point B ( which I literally used as the main reason for wanted to get a bike in the first place). Its also just a vehicle to stay present and really see the places I'm living in. 

This was initially supposed to be a very quick blurb, but writing this out actually made me realize how much of a difference biking has made to my relationship with the city. While I may very well be here for only one more year (I hope not T_T), I’m glad I now see the city as not just a collection of buildings and places, but my neighbors and friends. anw, pls donate. idk how this got so long.