They say once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. That’s a good thing as spending time on the saddle offers many advantages.
Besides the exercise benefit, one of the great attractions of cycling is its ability to make life slow down. You see more, you hear more, you hear less, you’re not behind a windshield, and you can explore places in a day that you normally wouldn’t seek out. Even if it’s just riding some streets in your town that you’ve never seen, you feel more alive.
If you become a bit more adventurous and head out on a longer trip, you’ll discover that you meet great people who are friendly and exceptionally helpful, far more often than people who are not.
Along the way you find yourself in quiet places where you never imagined being, such as sleeping on a park bench as I did in the above 1985 photo from a random spot somewhere between Washington and Maine. (It’s a shame the 80’s shorts have gone out of style. Come to think of it, it’s not.)
Cycling can offer a beautiful day with a phenomenal tailwind or a not so beautiful day with plenty of hills and a horrendous headwind. Usually it’s somewhere in between, but the variation is part of the fun, even though some days you wouldn’t exactly describe it using that word.
In the end, it’s all an experience and can be a rewarding one. If it’s been a while since you’ve been on a bicycle, whether for a couple miles or a little further, you should give it a try again.