Radio and Jr. High
Let’s start in the same order as the blog entry title. Last weekend the weather here in the Burgh was fantastic. Low 80’s in the daytime and high 50’s at night. Swimming during the day and just enough of a slight chill to wear a sweatshirt in the evening…in my opinion…absolutely perfect weather.
After a long day of swimming, running errands, playing and making a great dinner on the grill and while the other kids were taking their showers, it was just me and my youngest daughter on the deck. We were watching the sun starting to disappear for the night and just hanging out. The radio was on and it was of course set to the all 80’s station.
As the tunes played…Journey, Foreigner, REO Speedwagon, Styx, the Police etc…the tunes were good…for some reason it brought me back to Jr. High School and the dances my school had. I thought about how life seemed so hard and difficult back then. I remember the girl I had a crush on, the attempts to play it cool, the all so "important" things in Jr. High.
Then Allie put her head on my shoulder and snuggled in close next to me and everything was right in the world for those few precious minutes. It was just a real nice little moment…
Bikes
So I did something last night that I haven’t done in a long, long time…and it was awesome. I rode a bike.
The kids have been asking…pestering…nagging me for weeks to get my bike off the wall where it hangs upside down in the garage and ride with them. Well, last night I finally did. I haven’t ridden that bike in 14…15 years…it’s an old fashioned 10 speed bike. I was surprised that the tires were able to hold air and not all dry rotted away.
I have to say it was awesome…as a kid I rode my bike everywhere. Some of my bike trips were pretty impressive if I do say so myself. We lived in the country and nothing was close by so trips on bikes were miles and miles. I know one day I logged 40 miles round trip.
The wind hitting your face…the feel of the pedals…crouching down to be more aerodynamic…standing up to pedal when going uphill…I love the feel of riding a bike…gliding downhill and the freedom of just coasting brings me back to being a kid again.
I use to push myself as a kid…how far could I ride, how fast from place to place etc. I would time myself on trips to places and see if I could beat that time the next day. I knew what houses had dogs in their yards and what dogs would chase you and what ones wouldn’t. I use to plan my trips so I knew when certain people would be outside, whether it was people watering their flowers, or girls sunbathing by their pools. I rode my old bike everywhere.
The day I got my drivers license…was the day I stopped riding my bike…that is about to change…I may not be able to go out on long bike rides anymore…but now I get to enjoy riding with my kids. Seeing the smile on their faces as we all rode together and the wind blowing in their hair…it was another cool little moment. I want to keep finding these little moments and save them in my mental album.
For now...It’s time to ride again…
As a kid I used to ride my bike all around the neighborhood as well. My friends and I thought nothing of taking off after breakfast and not returning until dark in the summer. A bike = freedom :). That was a very different time than the one our children experience today. I didn't start riding a bike again until my boys got old enough to ride. We now do trail and beach rides together as a family and I have ridden in the MS150 twice (brutal!). I agree, there is something about it that makes you feel like a kid again. Happy trails :).
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