Bridge

American statesman and civil rights activist John Lewis, for whom Seattle’s impressive new piece of cycling and pedestrian infrastructure is named, was famous for advocating “good trouble, necessary trouble” in order to achieve positive social change.

And while the aims and purposes of Thursday night bike rides have little in common with the admirable ends that Congressman Lewis devoted his life to, those words of admonition are quite apt and have served as a lodestar to many, if not all, of the bicycling and bicycling-related activities undertaken out on two wheels en masse for the last decade and a half or so.

The word “trouble,” I’ve learned from the internet, has the same root as the word “turbid,” from Latin turbidus "muddy, full of confusion," from turbare "to confuse, bewilder;” it’s all about stirring things up, which seems about right in light of the sorts of behaviors that typically comprise a night out on two wheels with many of the usual suspects and a heartwarming handful of relatively new blood.

None of us, though, no matter how long we’ve been manifesting such good trouble, have ever before had the opportunity to pack into a light rail car going north like that.

Moreover, the magic flyover of I-5, seen for the first time is mind-boggling and—while not nearly as iconic and culturally significant as the Edmund Pettis Bridge (which also, ought to be re-named for John Lewis, don’t you think?) over which Lewis made real “good trouble” on “Bloody Sunday” in March of 1965—is nevertheless a quite remarkable instance of forward-looking civic infrastructure to be celebrated, as well.

During the nearly three decades I’ve made Seattle home, there have been some notable civic improvements, including the aforementioned light rail, a new bridge across Lake Washington, and, of course, the legalization of recreational cannabis.  Most have occurred in the fifteen plus years in which I’ve regularly pedaled with my preferred gang of good troublemakers.  

Coincidence? No trouble.