I learned to ride a bicycle at my grandfather's house on an old bike that was much to big and made in the forties or fifties. My Grandfather placed me on the bike and pointed me towards the street. Unfortunately the street was Capitol Street, a main street in my area. I learned to ride quickly that day and also learned to stop almost as quickly. Also, I learned the effects of a male bicycle when you attempt to stop and land stradling the middle bar that signifies that it is a male bike. This device has nearly crippled me on more than one occassion. That day was the first.
The bike I remember the most was a gift from Santa. It was a purple Schwinn Spyder, with a glitter Banana seat. This would be the one with the card in the spokes to make it sound like a small engine. Plus the chopper handlebars. Several of my neighbors also got the same bike, we were so cool. So many adventures on that bike that would take me from my main story. Maybe for future writings. Still this wonderful bike would be my magic carpet for those trips.
Okay enough plot exposition, moving back up these twenty years to this past weekend. I have two friends that are my walking and travel buddies, we meet almost every weekend to walk or go on a short road trip. Saturday we were going south to Hattiesburg to find the new walking trails we had heard so much about. After arriving in Hattiesburg and finding the trail, we discovered that an organization rented bikes to ride the straightway path. I saw a bike like the first one I had ridden, no gears, not frills, Just candy apple red touring bike. I was ready to ride. After paying the fee. I took it out side. My friends were on their bikes with gears and already on the way. I stopped to look at the bike before getting on it. It was a little taller than I would have liked, the middle bar was there and looked as dangerous as ever. There is an old saying that you never forget how to ride a bike...I am not sure that statement is totally true. Gravity, age and weight have confused my body into thinking that it is a different shape, when I run, I feel like an alien has taken over my body. This is not the body of my youth. I jumped onto the bike and let the forward momentum carry me forward. I was on the bike, but not yet riding, I had to convince my body that gravity could let go of me long enough to let me jump up to the pedals. Finally, after three attempts, I was pedalling and wabbling down the path. The bicycle was awesome. I felt a giddyness that was akin to a Christmas night. I was flying again. I was a kid in my domain, all was well. After a few minutes of riding I began to have vague memories of leg cramps and sore muscles . My body was tightening up and I was starting to feel the pressure. We passed the five mile sign, I was getting tired. We then reached a slight decline in the pavement and I was able to coast a while. My buddies and I finally decided that we had gone far enough and decided to head back to our starting point. Imagine our surprise to realize that we had gone out 7.5 miles, this meant another 7.5 miles to get back to our car. A total of 15 miles. This was incredible. I have not exercised in quite a while and was amazed that I made it this far.
Bikes are awesome that way :) If you want to keep riding, I suggest looking for bike trails that used to be train tracks. Because trains cannot go up or down at a steep angle, these are usually very pleasant trails.
ReplyDeleteMy first adult bike was given to me when I was 8 or 9. Even as tall as I was then, I still couldn't touch the ground. I learned a lot about the concept of gravity with that bike.