I get around..

..on my new bike

I got a new bike

I love biking. Always have. I grew up in the city and as soon as I could save up enough money from collecting pop bottles and the little bit of allowance I got, I bought a bike. I still remember rolling it from the neighbours to my yard. (I bought it second-hand from them), so excited to go biking. Bikes were freedom for us city kids. Bikes meant I could bike to school instead of taking the city bus. Bikes meant I could visit my friend and together we could explore the city, going where we wanted. (collecting pop bottles along the way because I had four siblings under me who also wanted their own bike)

Then I got married and moved to the country.....and biking became more difficult. We lived on gravel roads instead of pavement. The skinny tires of my bike would slip, slide around and I would get nervous that I would fall. We moved to a yard that was closer to sandy roads and after the rain I could take the bike out

But then we moved again. More gravel and I was never able to find a bike had tires that could manage the gravel that wasn't a beast to ride. Then I visited a friend and tried out her e-bike.

Big fat tires that easily handled the gravel. A battery and various levels of pedal assist to make biking on gravel easier. 8 gears so I can go up and down.

I. Love. It.

My husband was teasing me about how much I paid for it so I took a picture of it parked by the antique tractor he bought that he paid more for and uses less.......I rest my case.

I've been exploring again. The only problem is, living on a farm is that everything is further away. No 'quick bike rides' to the store - it's about 12 kilometres away. That doesn't sound like much, until you have to pedal all the way - even with pedal assist. Never mind that it's kinda hard on a behind that hasn't sat for any length of time on a bike seat for awhile.

But I will persist. And enjoy doing so. I hope to one day surprise my friend by showing up at her door and we can go biking together.

What about you? Did you bike as a child? Do you still?