The Joy of Movement

I noted recently, as I cycled to work, that nearly every driver in the (severely backed-up) oncoming lane had the exact same expression. It was alarming - eyes glazed over, completely expressionless, hands on the wheel. Nearly every one of them seemed to be on auto-pilot as they sat alone in their 4,000 lb boxes of steel, glass, and plastic. The only ones who were even remotely animated were those who were on their phones or who had another person in the car with them (these were few and far between). In the following days, I looked and saw the same expression, again repeated down the line of drivers.

What could you be missing?
via Maria Carrasco, Unsplash

What struck me, more than anything, was how detached they all looked. Like I said - on auto-pilot. It probably didn't help that traffic was backed up so they weren't even moving, but even on later days with traffic flowing along, most of the drivers I saw still had that expression. I think part of it is that driving is mostly a passive act: you sit there, keep your foot steady on the gas pedal and your hands steady on the wheel. You're not moving much, so your body naturally slows down - nothing about the act signals to your body that you're actually going 45 miles per hour and that you should be alert and engaged. Biking, on the other hand, is active, so your body knows that you're moving. The wind in your face, the exertion of your legs, bumps in the road, the smell of Fall in the air - those things all tell your body and your mind, "Pay attention - you're moving! You're alive!" There is feedback inherent in bike riding that you don't get in the average car, and that's probably why so many of the drivers I've seen have that expression of complete disengagement. What was there for them to engage with?

That's just my theory. All I know is, I've never had that expression while biking.