For the past four years, I have lived car-free. With my bicycle, I could visit friends, get into nature, and go to work. Bicycling was an immense joy, a source of pride, and my gateway to my community and locale. I cannot express how important my bike was to me. But if you know me, you know what a nut I am about cycling.

Last night, I biked home from my shift at Whole Foods. I got home at around 9:30. I locked my bike and went inside to go to sleep. I left the house at 8:00 the next morning to go for a run and saw that my bicycle was gone.

I hope that it will be found and returned, but I am not optimistic. In the meantime, I am in a bad spot. Having just moved halfway across the country, my savings are somewhat depleted. I recently got two jobs, and my ability to get to and from either is contingent on having a vehicle. For example, shifts at Job 1 end at 12:00 pm; shifts at Job 2 begin at 12:30. It is a 10-minute bike ride, but a 45-minute walk, and transit does not align with this schedule.

It is difficult to open myself to others and be vulnerable. I was raised to believe that I could only rely on myself and that failures and setbacks are reflective of my personal inadequacies. It is therefore difficult to show others that I need help. Yet I find myself in this moment as nervous about navigating this challenge as I am about sharing my difficulties.

Your funds will help me save for a new bike, and to pay for bike/e-scooter rentals that will get me to, from, and between my two jobs.