The Moth Podcast: Cycling

On this episode, in celebration of the Tour de France, we’re taking a ride with three stories all centered around biking. This episode is hosted by Emily Couch. Storytellers: Noa Gilbert organizes a protest to save a protected bike lane. Rebecca Sacks got into a bike accident and discovers something about her community. On his way to a meeting at Warner Bros., Gbenga Akinnagbe ends up stranded on the side of a mountain. Podcast # 927

• 0:00Speaker 00

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• 1:04Speaker 01

  Welcome to The Moth. I'm Emily Couch, and in this episode, we're taking a ride with three stories all centered around biking. The Tour de France has us thinking about cycling, and even though I know I'll never ride up a mountain with calves of steel or get one of those cute yellow jerseys, there's something special about being on a bike, something that, pun intended, you never forget. First up, we have Noah Gilbert, who told this at a Boston Story Slam where the theme was grown. Here's Noah, live at The Moth.

• 1:35Speaker 02

  I'm in Boston doing college tours. And the thing that I notice walking around Boston is the protected bike lanes, because I come from Omaha, Nebraska, which is a small, medium-sized city in Nebraska. And we have one. It's about two miles long. It kind of sucks. There's plastic bollards glued onto the ground, and cars run into it and park in it often. But I love this bike lane because it's the only one, and it's because how I get to and from school every day, and because it tells anyone on a bike that the way they get around matters and is important.

• 2:17Speaker 02

  About a month ago, we got the announcement from Mayor Jean Stothert that the bike lane was going to be demolished. Yeah, right?

• 2:27Speaker 02

  So I texted my partner and I texted one of my very dear friends. And we got together and we got coffee and we made a plan. My partner and I had been dating for about nine months at that point. And we had done all of the high school things that you want and look forward to and expect. But if you're a queer person, you're like, is that going to happen? And it does. And it did. We did. We went to the homecoming and dances and everything. We were being pulled in two opposite directions because my partner was going to stay in Omaha for at least the next eight years and I was not going to stay in Omaha.

• 3:08Speaker 02

  Right? They were tearing down my bike lane, right? What was I gonna do? So we got together and we got coffee and we set dates for this protest. And we decided we're gonna go and we're gonna ride in the street next to the bike lane and say, if you're not gonna let us be in this part of the street, we're in this part of the street. And we made press releases and we were like, hey, please come. Because protesting in Omaha, you meet some friends. Nothing really happens. But we were determined and we weren't gonna let it just sit and happen. So the Friday comes that we've set and we go to the park, which is right next to the bike lane.

• 3:52Speaker 02

  I'm interviewed by our three local news crews all at the same time. And I'm talking and explaining the best I can about what this is and why it matters and why it's important. We had over a hundred local cyclists come and show up to this protest. To this protest we barely, barely organized in a week with little to no hope of anything actually happening because that's the way things happen in Omaha. It's announced and you make a little fuss, but nothing happens, right? So we went and we took our big group ride all around downtown Omaha, which I've grown up in.

• 4:33Speaker 02

  So we go and we ride and it's so loud because people are ringing their bike bells and people are cheering and we pass by a daycare and all of the kids come running over to the fence and they're like, "It's the bikes, it's the bikes!" They're yelling in support and it's absolutely incredible. And we get back and people start to bike off in their separate directions because if you bike in Omaha after it gets dark, that's signing up to get hit by a car, right? And as my partner and I are driving home, we get a call from one of the reporters that I had coordinated one of these interviews with and she told us that she had gotten a press release from the mayor and she told us that the bike lane would continue to be funded.

• 5:23Speaker 02

  And I'm crying and I don't know, it's just, it's all coming out of me. And when I go home and look at the news, we flip between those three local stations and I'm on all of them. It's my face and my voice and then we flip and then it's my face and my voice again and then we flip it and it's my face and my voice again. And it's absolutely overwhelming. And then two days later, my partner and I broke up or pulled in these two separate directions in a way that was never really sustainable and going to work. So I'm here and I'm in Boston and I'm doing college tours.

• 6:04Speaker 02

  And back at home, there is a two miles of kind of crappy protected bike lane. Thank you.

• 6:18Speaker 01

  That was Noah Gilbert. Noah's studying political science at Haverford College in the Philadelphia area. No matter how far from home they get, they value that they learn to care for a community even when it's hard. Noah's life is now filled with love of all sorts. If you'd like to see a photo of Noah hanging posters around Omaha, we'll have that on our website, themoth.org/extras.

• 6:39Speaker 01

  When the pandemic hit, I hadn't ridden a bike in years. But it became my saving grace when I started to get stir crazy inside my tiny Brooklyn apartment. My husband was gifted a hand-me-down bike, and seeing how happy he was when he'd returned from a ride, I resolved to get a bike too. That bike ended up being my high school wheels, which had been rusting in my parents' basement for over a decade. It was a cute but fairly impractical bike, built for cruising around town. But what my husband did was not casual riding. So my poor, form-over-function Fuji and I would do our best to keep up on the 30-plus-mile ride to the George Washington Bridge and back, huffing and puffing under my mask. Despite suffering with every push of the pedal and one pretty epic wipeout on the Williamsburg Bridge, I fell in love with biking and continued to ride once the world started opening back up.

• 7:25Speaker 01

  It offered a sense of freedom during COVID, but one that stuck with me even after. To me, riding a bike is the closest I've ever felt to flying. Eventually, I invested in a good bike, and let me tell you, it makes a world of difference. Now that the weather is warm, you can find me most weekends in the saddle, almost keeping up with my husband, and I haven't had an accident since. Rebecca Sacks told our next story at a Boston Grand Slam, with the theme of the night was "Blue Moon." Here's Rebecca, live at the mall.

• 7:56Speaker 03

  Last year, one morning, I made a fashion decision that may have actually saved my life. My husband and I had been putting in long training rides for the Best Buddies fundraiser. That morning, I decided to go out for a short ride to the gym. I reached for my new bike helmet, which I had gotten because I was told my old one was no longer safe and I should throw it out. But I hadn't thrown it out yet, and there it was. It matched much better with my outfit, and I was meeting my cute young trainer. So I decided to put it on, and I did. A few moments later, I thought it through, and I thought, no one looks good in a bike helmet. Might as well wear the good one.

• 8:36Speaker 03

  So I put the good one on, and I clipped my feet into my new toe clips, and I hit the road. I was going pretty swiftly, when all of a sudden, I noticed I was coming upon a large pothole. I looked to the left, and there was traffic. I looked to the right, and there was a ditch. I really had no choice but to go over it. The last thing I remember, I was struggling to get my feet out of those toe clips.

• 9:02Speaker 03

  The next thing I knew, I was in an ambulance. I had been told that I was in the street unconscious for about 10 minutes. And also, that three little girls, sisters under 10, had seen the accident. They said they saw a woman struggle with her feet, go over a pothole, go over the handlebars, hit her head, slide on her face, and land in the middle of the road and not get up. They took immediate action. One of them stopped traffic, and the others ran to get their mom. The next thing I knew, an EMT was leaning over me in the ambulance, and he kept asking me the same question. "Do you know what date it is? Do you know what date it is?" I didn't know what date it is, I had no idea, and I knew that was a big problem.

• 9:45Speaker 03

  So I said, "Ask me another question." He said, "Are you married?" I said, "Yes, are you?" And he said, "No, well, actually, I'm getting a divorce." He said, "Why do you ask? Are you looking for a date?" And I said, "A little did I know at the time, I was bleeding profusely from my nose, and that my face looked like a pepperoni pizza, and that they had cut off my clothes to see how injured I was." I said, "No, actually, I have a girlfriend, and she really likes EMTs." They all laughed, and he said, "Wow, if you're this fun in an ambulance, you must be great at a party." And I said, "Well, I'm actually doing a presentation tonight. You should come, it's at the town library." He said, "You're not doing a presentation tonight. You hit your head really hard.

• 10:30Speaker 03

  You're not gonna be standing." They called my husband, and he came to the ER. Turns out, I had a level 3 concussion, I had multiple contusions and abrasions, and a broken wrist. I went home, and two days later, the mom and the three little girls appeared at the door, holding flowers. I came down the stairs, with my scabby face, still weepy and dizzy, and when I saw them, I cried, and I said, "I don't know how I could ever thank you." I took their names down, I wanted to remember it. When I felt better, I wrote an open letter to the editor of the town newspaper, thanking the girls and naming them.

• 11:11Speaker 03

  Then I went over to their house and I brought flowers and cards and TCBY gift certificates for the girls. My husband, he went over separately to thank them as well, but I worried that it wasn't enough. Months later, when I was solidly well, the mom called. She wanted me to know that the letter had made a difference to the girls, that they all had special needs and they struggled really hard in school and they tried hard, but they didn't get much recognition. She said because of the letter, everyone in the town, teachers, peers, clerks, everyone was congratulating the girls for what they did and she had never, never seen them so proud or feel so good about themselves and she wanted to thank me.

• 11:53Speaker 03

  I said that it made me feel so good that the letter had done some good for the girls and the family and that I was so happy for the silver lining. And after all, I thought my ugly helmet was pretty fashionable. Thank you.

• 12:08Speaker 01

  That was Rebecca Sacks. Rebecca lives in Holm, Massachusetts with her husband and her adopted dog, Ruby Tuesday. She is an attorney and owns a recruiting agency for lawyers. She enjoys kickboxing, Pilates, biking, and travel, and has been lost in Greece, Italy, and Iceland. After the break, a cycling adventure in the hills of Los Angeles. Be back in a moment.

• 13:37Speaker 04

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• 14:37Speaker 01

  Welcome back. Benga Akinabe told this at a New York City main stage, where the theme of the night was terra firma. Here's Benga, live at the Moth.

• 14:48Speaker 05

  I love my bike. I love my bike. I take my bike with me everywhere. I live in Brooklyn. It's the best way to get around the city. I love my bike so much, I travel with it. I have a bike case. I put my bike in the bike case. I check it in like luggage. It is luggage. And on this particular day, I'm in Los Angeles for a week of meetings. And I have a meeting at Warner Brothers Studios that I'm very excited about. And I check my GPS, and it says 40 minutes to get there. No problem. I jump on my bike, and I head out. My GPS then tells me I need to turn off-road to get to where I'm going. I get off my bike. I start to walk it onto the dirt path. And the moment I step onto the dirt path, my GPS goes out.

• 15:33Speaker 05

  No problem. I know the direction in which I need to go. I'll eventually get to Warner Brothers, right? So I keep going. Path starts meandering, disappearing, reappearing. And it occurs to me that this path is not actually a path, but a dried out creek bed. And I've been following it for about five minutes. I'm like, well, okay, this, this is a little bump in the road, but I know the direction in which I'm going. Warner Brothers is somewhere on that side. I'll just keep going. Eventually, the, the ground in front of me starts to incline to a little hill. And I'm walking my bike up this hill. The hill gets more and more steep.

• 16:17Speaker 05

  And I find that I have to start to use my hands to climb this hill. And, and like, that's cool. That's cool. I'm, I'm pretty rugged. I can do this. I can use my hands to climb this hill and take my bike with me. No problem. And as I continue on, I find that I have to now use my entire body to climb this hill. And, and I'm like, all right, that's cool. Like, I'm, I'm, I, Warner Brothers is in that direction. I'll get there and then this is well worth it. My bike is light, no problem. I continue to go up this hill. And, uh, and then I realize I'm, I'm getting tired. The sun is baking down on me. I'm higher and higher on this hill. And for, for a second, I consider going back.

• 16:58Speaker 05

  Until I turn around and I look down and I'm struck with just how high I'm, I am right now on this hill. I continue to go up. I'm like, cause I realized it's more dangerous to go down than it is to go up. I decide that I should probably stop and rest because I'm getting more and more tired. So I take my, my bike and I wedge it between some bushes. And I grab one bush and it comes right out of the ground. And I'm like, okay. I start to like laugh at how ridiculous this all is. Cause I got up this morning thinking I'm going to a meeting at Warner Brothers. And it occurs to me that it's time I should be honest with myself and that this is not a hill but a mountain.

• 17:40Speaker 05

  And, and, and, and I'm, and I'm, for some reason, I've, I, I've accidentally started to climb this mountain. And, and I'm thinking now just how ridiculous this is, because I'm in Los Angeles, the middle of Los Angeles. I did not expect to find a mountain and myself on it. And, and, and then I start to think like, I, there's a very good chance I'm not gonna make it out of here. And I start to think like, I, I, I probably might need to get help, because I don't know where I am. I don't have water, I'm very tired, and the sun is getting stronger. And so I take out my cellphone, and of course, my cellphone has like 5% energy and one bar. And I'm thinking, well, who am I gonna text?

• 18:25Speaker 05

  Everyone in New York, well, they're in New York. And, uh, and everyone in, in LA that I know, like, it's like, I can't even get my friends in LA to come pick me up at the airport, let alone find me on, on some random mountain in, in Los Angeles. So I was like, I'm not even gonna try. And just then, I look up, and across from me, on the other mountain facing the mountain I am on, is a ridge, and I see a man, and he's just been staring at me.

• 18:57Speaker 05

  His dogs are just running around playing, and I'm like, they, they're having, it was such a beautiful picture, and I felt such tragedy and fear, and all I wanted to do was scream out to this guy for help. And I, I knew that, one, he would not hear me, and, and, and two, there was very little he could do to help me. And so I decided I might have to just go on. And because I have a bookbag, I can't just put my bike on my back. I have to, I have to crawl about two feet at a time, then reach back and pull my bike. Drag my bike up the mountain, across bushes and rocks, watching my beautiful machine get beat up, but I will not leave my bike behind.

• 19:38Speaker 05

  And so I continue up and I see something above me, and it looks like an antenna. And I know that antennas are usually on some sort of platform, some sort of firm ground, and maybe if I get up there, like, I might be able to, like, save myself. I don't know what's up there, but at least that, right now, I have hope. So I keep climbing, I keep climbing, and I get, I crawl, I crawl over the edge of this mountain onto where this antenna is, and right by the antenna is a path. And I am shaking, I'm so excited. My, my, my face is covered in mountain dust, my eyes, the sweat all over, my helmet's askew. I'm like, I look very disheveled.

• 20:22Speaker 05

  And I look up, and there is a woman walking towards me, and I'm thinking, I don't want to scare this woman, but I really need her help. And so I walk towards her, and she's approaching me, I'm approaching her, we're about ten feet from each other, when at the same time, we say to each other, "Do you know how to get off of this mountain?" I'm like, "No, no, I thought you would tell me, I don't know where I am, I'm so lost, please help me." She's like, "Well, what about the way you just came, that path?" I said, "I didn't come from that path, I climbed off this mountainside, I don't know what's going on." I was like, "What about you? What, what, what's, what's back where you came from?" She's like, "Well, we can go back where I came from and see if we can find our way."

• 21:07Speaker 05

  So we, she turns around, we walk back to where she came, and we run into a group of hikers. Now, they were real hikers, the two of us, we were just like, lost people in the wilderness on the edge of life and death. And so, so, she, they help her, they tell, they point her in the direction in which she needs to go, and they tell me in the, that a direction I need to go. So we start walking, me and the hikers. I'm just thinking in my head, "Oh my God, I can't, how ridiculous my life is this morning." And then all of a sudden, I hear someone say, "Are you the guy from the wire?"

• 21:39Speaker 05

  Yes, yes, I was very fortunate to be part of that show. I mean, yeah, yeah, yeah, you can watch it several times and you get something different from it every time. You were right, yes, yes. And then his friend says, "Do you have any acting advice?" I was like, "Oh, I mean, well, theater is good. I like theater." And in my mind, I'm just thinking, "I just need to get to this meeting. I just need to get off this mountain." And they get me to a road, and I ride my bike down this road, and I hit Barham Boulevard. And I know Barham Boulevard. Warner Brothers is on Barham Boulevard. And it's three blocks ahead of me, and I see it.

• 22:20Speaker 05

  And I get a phone call, and it's the assistant in my manager's office who's telling me that they want to cancel the meeting for the day and reschedule to have it later that afternoon in Hollywood, back on the other side of the mountain. I lose it. I start laughing uncontrollably. I'm just that guy on the side of the road in L.A., sun-baked, just laughing at the sun. And, and, and, and to this day, I'm not quite sure how I ended up on that mountain, or what mountain it was, but I do know that I pay attention to the little things now. All the little things, like GPS instructions.

• 23:05Speaker 05

  I pay attention to how much weight is in my bookbag before I head out on the day, whether I have water. I pay so much attention. I probably pay too much attention, because you never know when the wrong choice might just end you up making life-or-death decisions on the side of a mountain. Thank you.

• 23:36Speaker 01

  That was Benga Akunabe. Benga is a successful actor of both stage and screen, seen in such works as The Deuce, The Wire, The Old Man, and Aaron Sorkin's adaptation of To Kill a Mockingbird. That's it for this episode. Thanks for listening, and here's hoping all your bike rides are as smooth as possible.

• 23:54Speaker 06

  Emily Couch is a producer on The Moth's artistic team. She loves to work behind the scenes to spread the beauty of true, personal stories to listeners around the world. Benga Akunabe's story was directed by Meg Bowles. This episode of The Moth Podcast was produced by Sarah Austin Jenness, Sarah Jane Johnson, and me, Mark Sollinger. The rest of The Moth's leadership team includes Sarah Haberman, Christina Norman, Jennifer Hickson, Kate Tellers, Marina Kluchay, Suzanne Rust, and Patricia Orenya. The Moth Podcast is presented by Odyssey. Special thanks to their executive producer, Leah Reese Dennis. All Moth stories are true, as remembered by their storytellers. For more about our podcast, information on pitching your own story, and

• 24:37Speaker 06

  everything else, go to our website, themoth.org.