Bicycles

Bicycles.  They mean so many different things to different people.  For some, bikes are a means of transportation, comfortably carrying them from point A to point B.  For some, bikes are speed machines, tools that enable them to push and surpass their own limits.  For others, bikes are toys, pieces of art or simply exercise apparatuses.  Bikes have been all of these things for me at different points in my life.  What started as a childhood fascination has ingrained itself into my soul.  That feeling of the human body and machine working together in perfect harmony.  Feet turning these pedals.  Hands hugging these bars.  Buttocks resting on this saddle.  After all these years, why do I still ride?  I’ve thought about this often.  And my reason has definitely evolved as I age.  One thing that hasn’t is how my bike brings me closer to the land.  Inspiring me to feel it.  Smell it.  Hear it.  Taste it.  Even as a kid, ripping around on my BMX, I knew every sidewalk lip, every dirt jump, every hidden landscape gem around town.  My world.  Building jumps.  Getting dirty.  Endlessly exploring.  Grounding.  Re-connecting with mother earth.  These roots run deep.  Even in the dead of winter, these fat studded tires still bring me back home.  What are your reasons to ride?  Bicycles.