I bought a new bicycle a few months ago. Was inspired after I finally went and biked the Lions Gate Bridge/Seawall back in the spring (yes, I have lived in Vancouver my entire life, and didn't bike the Seawall till now...) Besides, it seems to be the IN thing to do these days, and I got a really good deal. It was a second hand bike, bought from a Chinese guy who I think was dealing in stolen bikes, but hey, a deal is a deal right? Only $30, plus a new helmet, lock and waterbottle holder, ended up costing me $60 in total.
Bike riding in North America is definitely not as popular as most other places in the world. I have seen pictures of streets filled with bikes in China, and one thing that really impressed me about Europe is how people prefer to get out of their cars, and take their bicycles, or public transit. It is definately a nice convinience, and lets you go a bit further/faster than if you were just travelling around on foot.
Its nice to be able to zip around campus on my bike, but I can't help but be reminded about how much fun it was to ride bikes when I was younger. Back then gaming consoles were too expensive, so we actually used to go outdoors and stay active in the summers. Games like 'Cops and Robbers', or 'Hide and Seek' in the forest behind our house were quite standard, and then there was the manditory daily road hockey game between the kids from one end of the street, against the kids from the other end of the street, which only ended when it got too dark, or somebody got hit in the head with the ball and started crying.
And of course, we all had our own bikes... ah... our bikes. Although I doubt any of us ever went faster than 10 km/hr, to us, we felt like speed demons, going not less than 120 clicks. My first bike was actually a bit bigger than I was. I was 5 years old, and my parents bought me a second hand yellow Schwinn, with the old style foot brakes. For the first few months, I pedelled around with training wheels until one day when dad decided that enough was enough, and he took them off, took me to the field at the back of our house, so that even if I fell off, at least it would be on grass, and told me to start pedelling. Thankfully, all went well, and I didn't fall, although convincing me to stop was a bit of a challenge, since I was petrified that if I stopped moving I would take a tumble.
Of course we all took our share of spills... I think all of our mothers had purchased the mandatory Dettol bottles to clean off all the cuts and scratches we sustained, and of course had those perfectly shaped bandages which covered up the skinned and scrapped knees, and road burnt elbows which were pretty much a weekly occurance. My most spectacular crash happened to be when I managed to run head on into a parked car and ended up sprawled over the front windshield. Not exactly my finest moment...
What did we do on our bikes? Well, of course, there were the street races... at first from one end of the street to the other. Then, when we were a bit older, around the block. And then, finally, when we gained enough stamina, the races became all the way around the neighborhood. One of our biggest accomplishments was the construction of a ramp we used to go airborne on our bikes and pretend like we were Tony Hawk, when in reality, I doubt we got more than 2 ft off the ground. When we finally started getting a bit of pocket money from our parents, we would sneak off on our bikes and spend $0.50 on an Ice Cream from McDonalds, or a Slurpee from 7-11. We felt like kings.
Well, Ice Creams/Slurpees cost more than $0.50 now... our old biker gang has disbanded, and since I can drive, when I am home, I kind of prefer that means conveyance these days. These days, its just me, alone on my bike using it to go around campus, usually to the office, or SRC. Once in a while, I will take it a bit further, maybe to Broadway to have dinner, or down to the beach to watch the sunset. I may have grown up (well, physically at least), but every so often, its nice to be able to ride my bike, and pretend like I am 5 years old all over again...
Bike riding in North America is definitely not as popular as most other places in the world. I have seen pictures of streets filled with bikes in China, and one thing that really impressed me about Europe is how people prefer to get out of their cars, and take their bicycles, or public transit. It is definately a nice convinience, and lets you go a bit further/faster than if you were just travelling around on foot.
Its nice to be able to zip around campus on my bike, but I can't help but be reminded about how much fun it was to ride bikes when I was younger. Back then gaming consoles were too expensive, so we actually used to go outdoors and stay active in the summers. Games like 'Cops and Robbers', or 'Hide and Seek' in the forest behind our house were quite standard, and then there was the manditory daily road hockey game between the kids from one end of the street, against the kids from the other end of the street, which only ended when it got too dark, or somebody got hit in the head with the ball and started crying.
And of course, we all had our own bikes... ah... our bikes. Although I doubt any of us ever went faster than 10 km/hr, to us, we felt like speed demons, going not less than 120 clicks. My first bike was actually a bit bigger than I was. I was 5 years old, and my parents bought me a second hand yellow Schwinn, with the old style foot brakes. For the first few months, I pedelled around with training wheels until one day when dad decided that enough was enough, and he took them off, took me to the field at the back of our house, so that even if I fell off, at least it would be on grass, and told me to start pedelling. Thankfully, all went well, and I didn't fall, although convincing me to stop was a bit of a challenge, since I was petrified that if I stopped moving I would take a tumble.
Of course we all took our share of spills... I think all of our mothers had purchased the mandatory Dettol bottles to clean off all the cuts and scratches we sustained, and of course had those perfectly shaped bandages which covered up the skinned and scrapped knees, and road burnt elbows which were pretty much a weekly occurance. My most spectacular crash happened to be when I managed to run head on into a parked car and ended up sprawled over the front windshield. Not exactly my finest moment...
What did we do on our bikes? Well, of course, there were the street races... at first from one end of the street to the other. Then, when we were a bit older, around the block. And then, finally, when we gained enough stamina, the races became all the way around the neighborhood. One of our biggest accomplishments was the construction of a ramp we used to go airborne on our bikes and pretend like we were Tony Hawk, when in reality, I doubt we got more than 2 ft off the ground. When we finally started getting a bit of pocket money from our parents, we would sneak off on our bikes and spend $0.50 on an Ice Cream from McDonalds, or a Slurpee from 7-11. We felt like kings.
Well, Ice Creams/Slurpees cost more than $0.50 now... our old biker gang has disbanded, and since I can drive, when I am home, I kind of prefer that means conveyance these days. These days, its just me, alone on my bike using it to go around campus, usually to the office, or SRC. Once in a while, I will take it a bit further, maybe to Broadway to have dinner, or down to the beach to watch the sunset. I may have grown up (well, physically at least), but every so often, its nice to be able to ride my bike, and pretend like I am 5 years old all over again...
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