Bicycles

Bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle bicycle bicycle

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my bike

I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride it where I like

- Queen

As a youth, the extent of my world was pretty much defined by the distance I could pedal. Kids in my day lived lives that revolved around their bicycles. Our bikes were all made of steel. There were no light weight aluminum frames and carbon fiber was not even a glimmer in the eye of the scientists. We rode single speed Huffys and Murrays with banana seats, ape hanger handlebars, and sissy bars. And we didn't ride always ride them alone. If a buddy did not have his bike, he sat on the back of the banana seat or on the handlebars. In some cases, we rode three to a bicycle.

We were skilled riders for those days. We would ride wheelies around the block, no handed riding was very common, and a friend used to ride his bike backward. We were all Evil Knevil want to be's that used the bikes for jumping off a ramps and flying through the air. I remember one day in the local prairie when we had this tiny little wooden ramp perched on a railroad tie. We were trying to see who could land the furthest from the jump. I won but not in the expected way because it was my body that landed a distance beyond my bike. I came off the hill and was pedaling as hard as I could. I missed the ramp resulting in my body flying head over heels (2.5 flips I am told) and landing on my head. I didn't jump anymore that day.

Schwinn Continental

As we grew older, around 8th grade, our bikes grew more sophisticated. Speed bikes were growing in popularity, 3-speed, 5-speed, 10-speed. I had a blue 5-speed (my parents didn't think 10-speeds were necessary.)  A number of my friends received the Schwinn Continental for 8th grade graduation. It was a pricey bike that my family could not afford. These multi-speed bikes were our transportation of much of our High School years.

Fast forward to parenthood. My kids all had bikes and rode them when they were young. When they were getting near 8th grade, bikes were no longer cool so they didn't ride. I found this to be sad. Part of the problem with the kids not riding was that we, as parents, would drive them wherever they wanted to go. Come High School, friends had cars so the kids always seemed to have someone to drive them where they wanted to go.

Moab Mountain Biking

In my 20s, I rode to rehab my knee following ACL repair surgery. I had a low end aluminum, Fuji road bike. A bike that is still part of my stable of bikes. In my 30s, I purchased a Trek mountain bike. I purchased a mountain bike for the comfort and, I admit, to relive some of my youth when my friends and I road off road quite frequently. I also made a trip to the mountain biking mecca known as Moab Utah. In my 40s, my grids were growing and I had a bit more free time so I purchased a higher quality mountain bike with full suspension and began racing. My race results have been a mixed bag with my best ever being a 2nd place finish. I also took a return trip to Moab/Fruita to ride more rugged terrain then to the warm climate of Arizona a few months for some winter time, off road riding. I turned 50 this year and rewarded myself with a carbon fiber road bike which is easily the best bike I've ever owned and a joy to ride. I have my eye on a couple of other bikes that may someday grace my stable, a 29er mountain bike and a single speed road bike for cruising around the city.

Cycling is now one of my top hobbies. I still ride my mountain bike alone and enjoy that it gives me alone time to contemplate my thoughts in wooded locales. I ride my road bike with work friends and enjoy the camaraderie of the group ride. I completed my first ever century ride (100 miles) in September and look forward to more such rides in the future.

What started off as a means of simple transportation in my youth has become a passion of mine as I age. I plan to keep riding for many years to come.