How One Hospital Worker Fell in Love With Cycling During COVID-19
Adriel with his new bike.
Adriel Suarez is a hospital worker, a New Yorker, and for the first time in 25 years, a person who rides a bike. For the past seven years, Adriel has worked as a patient provider assistant at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Under normal conditions, Adriel works in the operating room, helping the nurses, moving patients, taking out the garbage — whatever is needed so nurses can stay inside the OR.
When COVID-19 struck New York City, Adriel’s job changed. Eighteen of the 23 operating rooms at New York-Presbyterian were transformed into intensive care units for coronavirus patients. Adriel was suddenly on the frontlines.
For an essential worker like Adriel, riding the train was now complicated and risky. That’s when a friend told him about #BikeMatch — a program that Transportation Alternatives created to connect essential workers with bicycles to protect from COVID-19 transmission.
We talked to Adriel about the coronavirus, his new bike (donated by Bike Rent NYC) and how cycling has changed his view of the city.
How did you hear about Transportation Alternatives’ #BikeMatch program?
Being in New York got a little more dramatic, and the train was getting difficult. One of my friends sent me the information through Instagram. I hadn’t been on a bike in so long. So I say, you know what? Let’s see what happens.
And after that, to be honest, I’m hooked. I started biking — like yesterday, I did a 13.5 hour shift, and then for whatever reason, I went on my bike and did 10 miles.
To distract your mind, it is amazing. I’m loving it. I’m so grateful, because the last time I rode a bike was 25 years ago. Now it’s like I’m a kid again when it comes to biking. It’s making life less stressful because until this thing is over, it’s something that you have to worry about. I don’t have to be worried about the train being reliable now. It’s like I make my own time, and I am having fun and getting fit doing it.
Tell us about your first ride on the bike.
To be honest, I was trembling. I couldn’t even pedal because it’s been 25 years since I got on the bike. But after a couple of laps around the block, I took the bike all the way from 52nd Street to the Bronx.
At one point, at a big hill on Broadway, I’m coming down fast and I just started screaming, yelling like a kid. I couldn’t help the excitement that I had because I hadn’t done this in so long and it feels like freedom. For the 30 minutes it took me to make it home, I forgot about everything. It was amazing. I literally was just yelling woohoo, like a kid — a 35-year-old man screaming like he’s like 13 or 14. And after that I’ve been hooked.
This is my baby. I call her Sabrina. I’m going with her everywhere — I go to see a friend, I’ll take my bike. The first question I ask: Can I take my bike with me?
Where have you been riding?
I usually live in the Bronx, but I’ve been riding a lot in the city because the hospital hosts us in hotels to avoid infecting our family members and spreading the virus. The hospital has a bike rack, and now the hotels will let me keep a bike in the room.
I’m just enjoying the weather now that it’s getting a little warmer. I’m just riding around the city, but if I need to go back home to pick up whatever supplies I need, I can do that as well. It’s been very fun for me.
Has your perspective on the city changed since you started riding a bike?
The other day, I went to Astoria Park and it felt, for a second, like it was 1995. At that time, the internet, nobody had access to it. There’s so many people out there on their bikes. It felt totally different. It’s something that I’m going to take to my grave, seeing so many people being outside, being active or trying to just come out of the house.
We New Yorkers, I think, always try to see the positive in things. I see more people being active. I’ve seen a lot of people biking, a lot of people running and it’s impressive. I’ve never seen so many people biking and running in New York City. This is going to be a weird summer for us New Yorkers, but we’ll handle it. I think we are getting there.
How do you see this changing the city?
When it comes to the city, I think it’s making it stronger. I’m optimistic. We are getting there. The city is going to reopen.
And I’m a little scared. I can’t front. Because I’m expecting a second wave, but I don’t think it’s going to be as bad because now we know what we need to do.
But other than that, New York is New York, man. We survived 9/11, we are surviving this. You just got to be optimistic and try to be positive. This experience has changed my life, how I see things — I get to appreciate more things now and before I took it for granted.
How has this experience changed you?
My mom had it and she’s 72 years old. Let me tell you, I was scared shitless. She recovered. She didn’t have to get intubated, but when it gets to you, it gets to you. People joke around because none of their loved ones have it, but as soon as one of your friends or family is touched by it, you feel it.
You work with these people, you see their family’s reaction — imagine how sad it is when somebody dies and they can’t see the body — that really breaks my heart. That’s the first thought that I thought about my mom, but thank God everything went well.
I’ve been doing a lot of running and biking at nighttime. I’ll be running around on my bike on 42nd Street, which is supposed to be the heart of New York, and it is like a movie. It is empty. It’s like a ghost town in the city, and when you see that you’re like, whoa, this is real.
Is there anything you would want to pass along to readers?
Wash your hands, people.
Just seriously, enjoy the little things in life that we take for granted sometimes because it’s important. There’s a lot of people, you hear them talking about little things that they used to complain about, like, I miss this so much. In my case, waiting for my barber while having a beer and talking smash with everybody. I used to hate it, now I miss that, the interaction. For people not to take the little things for granted, that would be my advice. And to wash their hands.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Do you have a spare bike, or need a bike for your mutual aid volunteering or essential work? Transportation Alternative is here to help. Get started at transalt.org/bikematch. Or if you’re outside New York City, learn how to start a #BikeMatch in your city.