Let's go ride a bike

I received a beautiful pink bike when I was in grade school. I think it sat in our garage until I was in the fourth grade when I decided maybe I wanted to learn how to ride the bike. I was not good at it. I had several run ins with rose bushes, curbs and once with another bike being ridden by my friend Danette. It was quite traumatic. I remember than incident with great detail. We were riding bikes around the neighborhood and as we rounded one corner, the wheels hit. And I went down. Hard.

I don’t think I ever really rode my bike after that. Even when I was in highschool and was in Germany as an exchange student with a humongous family. (The amount of children was huge, not the family themselves. They were quite fit.) We decided to go for a bike ride one afternoon. It was not pretty. You know the saying: It’s like riding a bike, well if its like I was on that bike all those years ago, then it is hard, frustrating and probably painful to watch.

It was a disaster.

I purchased a bike for myself in college, with my birthday money. I rode it once. It was just as bad of an experience as it had been while I was in highschool. Just bad. I made it around the block, but not before having to stop several times to get my balance, or to not fall off.

That was before Jacob was born, so at least 7 years ago. I had reserved myself for the bike at the gym. It wouldn’t fall over on me. It was safe. It was stationary after all.

So I was quite surprised at myself when I decide on Saturday evening to jump on Emily’s bike that she received for Christmas from my parents. It is an adult sized bike, almost a little big for myself. I asked Jacob to join me in a ride around the block on his bike. He took me up on my offer and off we went. It was one of the best times I have had in a long time. The wind in my air and my ability to not fall off. I was actually stable on the bike and enjoying myself. We had to stop several times, but not because of me this time, but because his little knees started hurting. So I would ride circles around him. And as we rounded the last corner, which is a big wide turn, but downhill, the speed got to Jacob and down he went. Hard. He skinned his knee pretty bad, but I think the fall scared him more than the injuries hurt. I brought him back home and bandaged him up, got him situated on the Playstation playing Scooby-Doo and I headed back out on the bike.

Josh wants to buy me a bike now, but I figure I can just ride Emily’s until she decides she wants it. And that may be sooner than later if I keep riding it.