My First Bike Ride Empowered Me

For this week's Memories Meme: My First Bike Ride...

There was a time when all I could think about was the wind in my ears and the searing heat in my legs as I pumped away mile after mile of pavement.  That seems like another life.  It began when I was an elementary school kid with a longing for freedom from my family; my parents, my brothers, and the constant stream of kids that were always around the house.  I just needed to get away from it all AND I had been given the responsibility to go sell girl scout cookies.  Soooo, I told my Mom I was going to my grandparents to ask them if they would like to order some of those irresistible cookies, but I didn't tell her which grandparent's.  I knew she'd assume my father's Mother who lived just 5 minutes away, but I realllllllllllllllly needed to get away.  I rode and rode and rode my sweet little pink banana seat bike - with the back pedal brakes and sissy bars - all the way to her Mother's 12 miles away.  THAT was the first bike ride I remember truly owning and feeling liberated by.  That day gave me a glimpse at a freedom and joy I'd never experienced in my young life, but that I'd been craving, yet I was merely 10 years old.  Through the pure strength of my own limbs and the power of my own will I found pride in accomplishment and joy at the peace I found when I was alone with no one knowing where I was.  From then on I rode as often as I could and over the years I expanded the length of my trips to include week long excursions around the beautiful state of NY.  I long for those moments still!

Now, as a mother I can certainly understand how that initial treck on my little pink bike freaked my family out (and Boy did they ever), after all I was only in fourth grade!  I was the same age as my daughter is now.  I know I would have a coronary (OK now I reallly sound like my Mother!) if I were to find she had left to go so far alone.  In fact, with today's world, I have barely become comfortable with her walking around the corner to a friends house which is only a few houses away.  Yikes.  I know that she has the same spirit of independence and tenacious strength that I held then.  I wonder what is in store for us as she pushes the boundaries of home and stretches to find her own wings in the next few years.... 

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