I Want To Ride My Bicycle, Bicycle, Bicycle

When faced with a task one hasn't done in some time, the comforting phrase often uttered is, "it's like riding a bicycle."

The meaning, of course, is that once you've learned how to do certain things, you never forget how to do them, no matter how long it has been since you've last done them.

Yesterday, I learned that, despite the expression, riding a bicycle is not one of those things for me.

Granted, I don't have that much experience. Growing up, I lived on a hilly road with no berm, hence no good place to ride a bicycle. The only time I ever did much riding was around the state park my family visited for a week each summer, because it was the only time bicycling was a viable transportation option for me. I've never even had my own bike, always having used my sister's hand-me-downs.

Since I reached adulthood and moved to the Prairie State, where hills are never a problem, I have thought a few times about buying a bicycle, but having no urgent need for one, I always pushed the idea aside.

Then, on our honeymoon last month, my new husband announced his plan to buy me a bicycle as a wedding gift. He has one, he knew I'd been wanting one, and he thought it would be fun for us to ride together. I thought that was a great idea, especially now as summer approaches. There are all sorts of trails in our area, and even just riding around the neighborhood together would be a nice summer pastime.

Yesterday, we finally got around to looking for a bike for me. I sat on a few, and my husband urged me to take one for a spin inside the store. The bicycle area wasn't very big, but I gave it a whirl.

It didn't work out so well. I couldn't get my feet on the pedals before I reached the end of the aisle, and I couldn't go very fast, because the aisle was short. Each time I tried, I wobbled back and forth before putting my foot to the ground to stop.

"I can't ride a bicycle!" I exclaimed in awe. "I can't believe I can't ride a bicycle!" Suddenly, my hubby was rethinking his gift idea, worrying I'd end up with bloodied limbs and a cracked skull.

I insisted it was just because the aisle was so short (you can't really go fast enough to stay balanced when your "course" is only 15 feet long), but deep down, I wondered if I really had forgotten how to ride. By my best guess, it's been about 14 years since I've taken a spin on a bicycle, and considering that I didn't even learn to ride until I was eight, that's saying something.

But I'm not ready to give up just yet. I'm excited about the prospect of riding around the neighborhood this summer, and I certainly wouldn't mind having a way to get around that does not require the purchase of gasoline, although I think it will be a good long while before I am ready or willing to take my bike on anything but the backest of back roads.

Besides, I think I'm due this. I didn't get to do the whole bike riding thing as a kid, and I always wanted to. My friends who lived "in town" rode their bikes together all the time, and I never got to do that. It's like I missed out on a part of childhood. And if I end up with some scraped knees and elbows, well, that's just part of the experience.