In the beginning... I had training wheels. I kept them for a good, long while. One of my first memories was when I was ... about 5 years old. I fell over into a thistle bush. This was an omen of things to come. My dad tried to teach me how to ride a 2-wheeler bike by pushing me down a hill and I ended up in the ditch. My brand new yellow and white striped shirt was ruined with mud and I was very unhappy. This is quite similar to the way my dad tried to teach me how to swim. He threw me into the pool.
It wasn't long before most of my friends were riding 2-wheelers. I was a little shy and embarrassed of the fact that I was still using training wheels. They also slow you down significantly so I couldn't keep up with my friends. Being all brave, I headed out with my friends by pedaling down our hill of a driveway to the bottom... straight into the rocky ditch on the other side. It was a mess. I didn't end up playing with my friends that night. Those were the days before high-tech inventions like... helmets.
Eventually I learned how to ride a bike. I don't remember the magical moment, but it must have happened. Years went by and I didn't touch a bike. I could walk everywhere in Toronto and it was years before I owned a bike again. Eric and I bought bikes in 2001 or 2002. I rode around the neighbourhood a bit; I even bought a Chariot with the bike attachment so I could carry the kids around.
Other than neighbourhood jaunts, I only tried to take the Chariot once to a playgroup in Greely. Unlike Anders, Ezra screamed the whole time. It was horrible. My butt hurt and I dreaded returning home. On the way home, I completely gave up and called Eric to come save us.
This is my history.
Last year, I decided to try biking to work. I'm not sure how or why I developed this desire but it happened. I thought about it for months before asking my husband Eric if he could bike with me to work on my first try. I was so nervous. It was so great to have Eric with me on my first trek. It's about 14.4 km from my house to work and most of it is on a bike path along the Ottawa River. We did it in an hour and I was super-impressed with myself.
Since then, I have tried to bike as much as possible. I've gone through 3 different bike seats, trying to find one that doesn't hurt my tailbone or cha-cha so much. I had one REALLY bad ride home once. Pain. I've biked through wind and rain, goose poop and floods. I totally draw the line at snow and ice. I biked at 4 degrees one morning and I swore I wouldn't do it again unless I had biking pants. I still can't manage to get up hills. A runner actually pushed me up a hill one day. I love it, though. I totally get passed by the people with awesome bikes with awesome wheels and awesome outfits but that's okay. It beats getting frustrated on the bus, watching the minutes pass too slowly.
That's not me in the photo, but it could be. I get to bike this route along the Ottawa River, past the War Museum, underneath the Parliament Buildings, past the National Art Gallery on the way to work.
Even though I had a bad history with bikes, I'm glad I didn't let it control the present or the future. It's hard to try something new but who knows? That thing that seems scary and hard just might be a challenge you can overcome and learn to enjoy.
