I don’t remember learning to ride my bike. I am sure my parents helped. I do however remember my first real bike. It was a purple chopper! One of the most vivid memories of my childhood was this bike. I remember going to get a new seat for it, one of the cool ones, just like a real chopper motorcycle. I can see myself clipping hockey cards on the spokes so that my bike makes that perfect sound, like I’m really riding a real ‘hog’ – Such a great memory!
I also remember teaching my first daughter to ride her bike. My hand on the seat, running alongside her, then letting go. She wobbles a little, then a lot, and then falls followed by crying a little and wanting to quit. We didn’t though. I would always say to her, as I did with the next two kids, “If you fall off, get back up, wipe off the dirt, and try again.”
The memory that follows is just as vivid in my mind; I’m running behind her, I let go and she doesn’t fall. I keep up with her not holding on, then suddenly I slow down. She rides farther ahead by herself, the tassels on the end of her handle bars flowing in the wind; silver, pink, and red. My eyes glaze over a little as this moment would the first of many, those moments where you have to let go and let your child grow; to blaze their own trails.
One of the keys to life is no different then learning to ride a bicycle. You fall off, you get back up. Does it hurt to fall? YES! In the case of a bike it can hurt a lot complete with bruises and blood. Wear a helmet. I mean this as much metaphorically as I do literally. The moment that you get the hang of it, the pain is gone… forgotten. Soon you are riding with ease and grace, and the “seat holders” fade away into the distance (again gone but not forgotten).
I have good days, great days, and STUpendous days. I fall now and again, but I push through. The best part is that it’s getting easier to get back on. Life’s like that. Some call it “the secret.” I call it bike riding.
Nothing can beat that feeling of the wind in your hair, the sun on your face, and the speed you get up going down a hill. It is truly brilliant.
Live your days that way. Peddle hard, fall… but get back up. I know I will.
