"A good bicycle, well applied, will cure most ills this flesh is heir to."
-- Dr. K.K. Doty
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| Fat tire two wheeler with wire basket 4-13-14 |
"A bicycle ride is a flight from sadness."
-- James E. Starrs
"Cycle tracks will abound in Utopia."
-- H.G. Wells
They say you never forget how to ride a bicycle.
I'd argue that you also never forget the very first time you did it.
I must have been 4 or 5 when my dad took the training wheels off my little red and white Schwinn, trotted along beside wobbly me until I found my balance, and then finally let me go.
And even though I can't remember my exact age when it happened, I will never forget how it felt the very first time I rode a two-wheeler.
I only made it past a couple of mailboxes down our dirt road before crash-landing in the ditch (Lesson #2, Using the coaster brakes), but I'd done it. I'd tasted smooth, unbridled freedom. It was the best feeling in the world.
I wanted to do it again. And again. And again.
I couldn't get enough.
I still can't.
And even though I've traded my little red Schwinn for an expensive, multi-geared, high-tech, feather-light, narrow-tired road machine, and my scuffed up Stride Rite sneakers for clip-on cycling cleats, and my Toughskins for aerodynamic padded Lycra tights, the feeling I get riding a two-wheeler hasn't changed a bit.
Smooth, unbridled freedom tastes the same no matter how old you are or how fancy your stuff is.
If you have a bike and you haven't ridden it in a long time, why don't you dust it off, clean it up, grease your chain, pump up your tires and get out there. A bike doesn't have to be high-tech or look super-cool to feel great. So what if the baby seat is still attached and your baby is in college? A baby seat is just the right size and shape for a bag of groceries or a couple of six packs. Just remember to strap them in. I know a lady who takes her two elderly Dachshunds for rides in the pull-behind Burley bike trailer she bought for her grandkids. I see them cruising all over town, and it's pretty damned adorable.
Sometimes I like to just go cruising on my heavy old retro "Susie one-speed" with her fat tires, wide springy seat and basket on the front.
Anyhoo ...
This is all by way of saying that yesterday, after many winter months on the indoor trainer, I finally got back on the road. (I still ride a red and white bike. I guess that hasn't changed either.) It was chilly. It was windy. It was glorious. It was the best feeling in the world.
I want to do it again. And again. And again.
And I will.
Whoever said "enough is enough" was obviously not a cyclist.
