Let a man find himself, in distinction from others, on top of two wheels with a chain – at least in a poor country like Russia – and his vanity begins to swell out like his tires. In America it takes an automobile to produce this effect.
– Leon Trotsky, The History of the Russian Revolution (1930)
Every season, a new term begins in Cambridge. Before everyone has a chance to settle down, the term abruptly slips into an intense hustle of hours of classes and nightly deadlines. Like a merciless tornado that restlessly sweeps and treads with such an unspeakable force, the busy schedule of the term spins and swirls everyone around and around till it suddenly lands at the end of the term. And we all ask, “How is it already the end of the term? Did I accomplish the goals I set at the beginning of the term?” However, the wheel spins around once again; even before we can pause and reflect, we are consumed by the next tornado of events.
Trotsky’s Russia in early 20th century was symbolized of simple peasantry upon the endless extent of barren fields. In comparison to America and the western world, who were developing in an incredible pace from the industrial revolution, Russia stood at the converging point of history between the prevailing simplicity and the frustration for lack of sophistication. A bicycle for Russia and an automobile for America. Trotsky’s statement resented the under-development of Russia and the lack of life quality for the proletariat mass. His criticism pinpoints: so low is the man’s expectation for the better, that his vanity grows upon such a simple object as a bicycle! Russia and Trotsky wanted the modernization – the unstoppable, beastly locomotive that whistles and steams in a dizzying pace of episodic races.
The very modernism progressively resulted in today’s hyper-sophisticated world, where everything spins and accelerates to such a malicious degree of haste. Life – a term in school – spins and swirls us viciously while our conscience can hardly catch up to its speed and force.
We need a pause. We need a break on the violent rhythm of the maddening business. We must, at least once a week, retreat for a momentary contemplation. What Trotsky resented for, we must return to. We need to retrace to the simplicity. The fields. The sunshine. The breeze. All those elements of reality provide us a sense of meaning and insight.
Cambridge, after mere 5 to 10 minutes of cycling, opens out into the endless horizon of fields in green and the light tunnels of forests. Cycling takes us through the blissful autumn air and crisp fallen leaves in their last colours of the year. Let a couple hours of simplicity discord you from the rapid pace of the term and refresh you through the ritualistic cycling. Join us at WAC – Waterloo Architecture Cyclists. We go cycling for a couple of hours every weekend in a leisurely pace to escape from the pressure and the stress.
We have our first weekend ride on this Sunday at 10 AM, September 14th. We will meet in front of the school.
For further information, visit www.facebook.com/groups/wac.club
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