After reading this article, I feel very uplifted and inspired that the women in Egypt, despite facing so many obstacles, still go out of their way to ride bicycles. Not only is it inappropriate for women to cycle in Egypt, they also face sexual harassment and endangerment due to not having a designated bike lane. I feel that these women in Egypt should be an example for all women that face obstacles in their lives not only about cycling but also about everyday problems. Not only do they embrace and fight the challenges they face in Egypt, but they also took it a step further by starting the organization Go Bike, a group that promotes cycling. Women like Shaimaa Ahmed are perfect examples not to give up when things get tough and failure occurs. Overall, I felt this reading was very encouraging and the concluding message said by Mohamed Samy was, “Try not to be scared. Forget those around you, challenge yourself and just enjoy,” which can essentially be applied to every obstacle in life.

Unfortunately, I cannot recall most of my early childhood memories, but I know bicycles were a part of it. My first bike was blue and white and came from Toys R Us. I don’t remember who taught me to ride or how it went or where it happened, but I know growing up, my siblings and I rode our bikes almost everywhere. We would explore the neighborhood where we lived on our bikes and find massive hills to ride down. Discovering new places around our community and riding to the local Starbucks or frozen yogurt joint was a very fun part of growing up. After reading the articles from “What Every Kid Wants,” it made me realize how much times have changed and how much they’re going to change in the future. With the rise of car services like Lyft and Uber, more and more children are growing up resorting to that rather than riding their bikes places. Kids are also not as engaged in being outdoors in today’s generation, which makes me very sad. I’d like to think bicycle riding will still be around by the time I have kids, and if it’s not, then I vow to enforce it regardless because learning how to ride a bike should be an important milestone in every person’s life.