Dave Bikes

This week our post comes from the Open Roads Program Manager, Mr. Dave Brown! "When I started working at Open Roads this past June, I started to think more about what a bike was to me and to the young people we serve. What is a bike? It's a combination of simple machines assembled to propel a human forward. It is also a mode of transportation, a tool, a form of recreation and it defines people’s lifestyles. 
 
I think back to my memory as a kid, and a bike for me was freedom! I could roam the neighborhood and go over to friends houses on my own. There were no bounds where my bike and I could go. Curbs, gravel parking lots, tree roots, and rocks made some of the most fun spots to jump over. I look at how my life on a bike changed when I was finally able to drive, I stopped riding my bike to school or to friend’s houses. I started carting my bike to trailheads in my vehicle. Riding became less of a necessity and more recreation. While that is not a bad thing, I miss the purity of those days: “Just a kid and his bike!” That is one thing I am trying to regain as an adult- trying to balance the time I have to use my vehicle vs. when I can be a little more relaxed on arrival and departure times and ride my bike more places. 
 
There is something freeing about riding your bike to places you normally whiz by at 30-40 mph.  To borrow the words of Drew one of our Youth Board Members, “You see more when on a bike instead of driving a car”. I always find myself a happier human when I ride my bikes. So a challenge to myself (and to you!) is to ride your bike more. For whatever reason- to commute or just for the pure enjoyment of it all!"

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