CyclistIs it ok to care about bikes when the world is burning?I dont think its altogether controversial to say that things could be better in the world than they are right now.When bombs are falling, and suffering seems to be everywhere, and theres a definite possibility that things could get considerably worse before they get better, talking about bikes can seem rather trivial, offensive even.Flipping through Instagram stories theres so much I should be thinking about. So many things about which to be enraged, such an avalanche of grief and worry demanding my attention. It is utterly relentless, the unplumbable depths of sorrow.Amidst all that, some new aero bikes have launched and Tadej has won another bike race. The world got a fresh new entry level road groupset, and so the cogs of a creaking bike industry continue to turn.Theres no point trying to pit the trivial against the horrific, they clearly cant compare to one another. They are orders of magnitude apart. But if it does anything, we should let the bad stuff remind us why the good stuff matters.The occasional importance of being somewhat selfishTheres a mantra I cling to here, something I tell myself not because I feel good about it, but because its necessary to preserve my sanity: worrying about world events does nothing on its own to alter the course of those world events. Unless youre actively involved in changing the course of history, whether that means campaigning, fighting, protesting, or legislating, your feelings arent actually doing anything.The universal availability of information has fostered the delusion that awareness itself is consequential. But knowing that bad things are happening does not reduce the number of bad things that happen, unless you actually do something about the bad things.Sharing social media posts is not doing something. Handwringing publicly is not doing something. Doing something is doing something.And if you dont feel that youre currently in a position to do something, its valid to say: I cant handle this just now, so Im going to step back. Im going to stop doomscrolling and think about the bike I want to build, or Im going to go for a ride and not think about anything.Of course this comes from a place of immense privilege. People being bombed dont have the luxury of not thinking about bombs. But maybe you do at least some of the time, and it doesnt make you a total monster if you exercise that privilege so you dont go crazy.You can be someone who cares about stuff and you can engage when it feels productive, without torturing yourself pointlessly. Related Posts I can't wait for 32in wheels on my gravel bike I bloody hate winter, this is how I get through it Never mind diesel cars, gravel bikes are the real mis-selling scandal Bikes are goodPatrik Lundin / CyclistYears ago there was a bike clothing brand called Machines for Freedom. Long since shuttered by its parent company Specialized, its name is lodged in my memory as a neat encapsulation of what makes bikes so good and pure. I am unapologetically placing them on a pedestal.Bikes represent multiple kinds of freedom: as a mode of transport, as a deceptively simple yet extraordinarily effective example of human ingenuity, but most importantly to me, as a means of escape. Bikes are so much more than just an amplifier of our physical prowess, they are a portal to a simpler, more mindful existential place.Sometimes I feel like time stops when Im riding. Just briefly, the pressures of being an adult in 2026 fade to a background hum. Life revolves around the crunch of tyre on gravel or the zzzzt of a gear change.One Sunday I ride laps of a short, swooping trail, with my two year old perched in front of me on his Shotgun seat. His gaze is steely, but quiet humming noises narrate his delight. More more more! he commands as we finish another run. Then he shrieks with surprised joy as we become momentarily weightless over a roller.The world is burning, but right now I care about this, and only this, and that is as it should be. This is what bikes give me, and nothing about it is trivial.The post Is it ok to care about bikes when the world is burning? appeared first on Cyclist.