So there’s this guy, Joe Mitchell, who is the Republican MAGA nominee for the Second District of Iowa. That’s all I know about him, really. And I only know that because last week Joe Mitchell said one of the stupidest things a candidate in Iowa can say. While praising Comrade President Donald Trump, Mitchel said (and I’m not making this up} this:

“Thank God you’re building the ballroom. Thank God you’re getting rid of those awful bike lanes. We don’t ride bicycles in Iowa.”

Yeah, no. Obviously, not thanking anybody, celestial deity or not, for that obscene ballroom or for getting rid of bike lanes. But this whole ‘We don’t ride bicycles in Iowa’ bit? Dude. Where did that come from?

Just for the record, there are more than 3000 miles of bike trails & multi-use paths in Iowa. Polk County, Iowa (where I live right now) has more than 800 miles of paths and trails. My suburban community alone has more than 100 miles of bike paths and MUPs. I can do most of my errands by bike, without ever having to ride on a street. Hell, there are three bike pubs within a couple of miles of my house.

We ride bikes in Iowa, is my point. A lot of us ride bikes on a regular basis. Not just for exercise or fitness, but as basic transportation. A lot of long, fairly straight bike trails that are perfect for exercise are linked to shorter paths used for commuting. A bicycle is the most efficient, quickest way to get around the city. That said, although Des Moines has plenty of safe, separate bike paths, it could still do a hell of a lot better when it comes to cycling infrastructure. On the day Joe Mitchell made his stupid statement, I spent an hour or so noodling around the city. I saw a lot of bikes in parts of the city that are less than bike-friendly.

But one of the things about bicycles is that they’re flexible transportation. If a separate, safe bike lane isn’t available, cyclists will ride on city streets or sidewalks. Or they’ll ride down alleys. Or through parking lots. Or they’ll use any space that offers even a slightly reduced risk of getting whacked by an inattentive driver. Semi-safe urban cycling demands a creative use of space. That sometimes means violating car-brained norms and riding through spaces not designed for bicycle use.

Because of all that, urban cyclists can be hard to photograph. They’re quick; they come and go before a photographer has a chance to lift the camera. On top of that, an urban field of view is pretty limited; buildings, people, parked vehicles, construction—all those things can obscure or conceal an approaching cyclist, so a photographer is often unprepared when a cyclist appears.

For a photographer, the result tends to be a lot of missed photographs or blurry, poorly composed images. I don’t know how many cyclists I saw on my short walk. I was only able to shoot four semi-decent photos of cyclists roaming through the city. They’re all dressed in different clothes, riding different styles of bike, moving at different paces through different parts of the city. But they all share that swivel-headed concentration necessary for urban cyclists to survive.

Bicycles and cycling, if treated thoughtfully, make life better. Bikes are cleaner, safer, smaller, and more versatile than motor vehicles. Cycling encourages riders to be aware of the world around them, to be an active part of the world around them. Cycling teaches us to be creative thinkers and problem solvers. Cycling makes us healthier, more engaged citizens.

Earlier, I said my point was that we ride bikes in Iowa. That’s a point I don’t really need to make; it’s that obvious. My actual point in writing this is as follows: Joe Mitchell can go fuck himself. So can the entire MAGAverse. Bikes are a universal good.