Like riding a bike

I went on a bike ride tonight with some of my homeschooling mom friends. It felt great to get out and ride with other adults - I think hubby and I have only done that once since having kids (together that is - he goes all the time by himself). Riding at an adult pace is significantly different than riding with kids on a family ride. While my oldest is quite capable of a 9-12 mile ride, it would take us the better part of a day, not a short evening. The ride out was kinda tough, but the ride back was more leisurely. I'm looking forward to making this a weekly event for the summer.

Thinking about bike riding takes me back to being a kid in eastern Washington. Moses Lake is a place I considered my home for a long while, in part because we lived there longer than any place I ever lived during my childhood - we lived in that neighborhood in that small town for almost 3 years. I spent the "golden years" of my childhood there (ages 6-8), and I still can recall all my close friends by name. One activity that we all took part in was bike riding. We rode our bikes everywhere, and our world seemed huge, though by adult standards it probably didn't amount to much. We felt independent and "big" being out on our bikes with friends, where adults knew only our general whereabouts. I feel badly that most kids nowadays don't have that same experience. I remember on the morning that Mt. St. Helens erupted I rode further than I'd ever gone before - across the main road that led to our street, and into the next neighborhood up. Everything about that day seemed so surreal, but besides the popcorn clouds, and the sky going dark at noon, I remember the freedom of riding my bike far enough to expand my world just a little bit more.

Oh, and for the record: I rode a pink Schwinn with a banana seat, and the seat had flowers on it. Like this, but without the fancy handbrakes:
I know you're jealous.