Bikes teach you a lot about life.

You see the title and you’re probably wondering what I mean. That’s cool, I got no problem telling you. That’s why we’re here. Bikes are amazing if you don’t already know. They might be one of the best modes of travel and exploration that man has ever created. You can walk a whole lot, but I almost assure you you can bike way more if you know how to ride a bike. But aside from the movement and the sense of freedom, I realize how much it really taught me about myself and life.

The act of learning to ride a bike alone, teaches you so much. In order to learn you have to fall. You have to get back up and decide if you’re going to do it again. Yes falling is wack and it hurts, but what about the long bike ride you’ve been dreaming about with friends and family? Are you going to let a couple of falls stop you from your dreams and hopes? I certainly hope not. Everybody who has ever learned to ride a bike has fallen and gotten back up and tried until they got it right. There really is no trick to it. You try and try until you get it right. Learning to ride, taught me patience and perseverance in the beginning. Most times we are not going to be good when we start something, You have to keep your mind on the bigger goal and actions you are striving for through your learning. We all have to remember the end goal we truly want. If you really want to ride with your friends and explore, you’ll definitely keep going.

The world is much bigger than you think. Bikes taught me this too. A lot of times you think one thing and it turns out to be another. This only happens when you can experience it for yourself up close and personal most times. The ability to travel and experience new people, experiences, and things for myself on my own time was just amazing. The pioneering feeling that you get when you’re on two wheels and the world is breezing by you is pure bliss. The ability to move and see new environments and interact with them was everything as a kid. I knew the city was bigger than my house and school and the couple of blocks that I knew in my neighborhood. I knew there was more than that too. But there is something totally different when you know a place in your brain and your bones. Then you really know a place. I felt like I was actually a part of my neighborhood once I could ride through it and relate to things myself. Riding a bike allowed me to make sense of the outer world in an up close manner and gain a greater sense of understanding for my inner and outer selves.

I don’t know about you, but riding a bike and seeing new places only made want to do it more. There were many days where my siblings and I got our bikes and we thought we had a destination, but that only turned out to be a stopping point before many others. I don’t know if everyone feels this way once they get on a bike, but it rang true for me. Riding and seeing new places became a thrill I had to feel and experience quite often. The feeling of hyped and then tired muscles, fatigued from a day of riding was just the best feeling back then. Exploring and finding a spot we thought we found all by ourselves was just dope. We were just feeling things out and essentially experimenting in space and motion. It was the best feeling ever. I know for sure it was hard to sit still before that unless it was a good movie or a book. Once I had my bike and my crew, it was all about what we could go explore and find and make into our own. The love of the search for new and interesting experiences had been born truly after I started riding my bike.

Of course I busted the tires. A couple of times. I had some handle bar issues. I fell more times than I could count. I popped my chain more than a few times and had to figure that out. I let the wrong person ‘borrow’ my bike once and that was not good. I think I got it back. I definitely remember rage and tears and a whole bunch of words. I might have gotten into a fight. I was a bad brawler back then, but you had to stand up for yourself. It was the ‘90’s; I wonder if things are that much different now for the youth. My bike taught me responsibility, it taught me about the world around me, it taught me the power and beauty of independence, it taught me about friendship, and it taught me a host of other things I could get into but i’ll save it for the book. Learning to ride a bike taught me so much more than I thought it could. I hope I remember this every time I come across something cool and challenging. I hope you do too.