Bike Memoirs, Creating Fonder Memories

I heard a woman singing "I don't want to grow up I'm a toys r us kid" an older song I had heard more than thirty years ago.  A lot of folks are familiar with getting their first bike as a kid remembering the excitement of new possibilities presenting themselves in expanding their horizons on two wheels.  Then I remembered a bike mechanic I had worked with bitching and complaining how some customers perceived bikes as toys and consequently he didn't feel he was receiving due respect for his knowledge.  There may have been a valid point there but I also know how some bike shops have an elitist attitude and can be rather intimidating for many customers.
Considering the perspective of many bike advocacy groups insisting bikes be considered as vehicles for transportation and other utility purposes, bikes as toys seems quite absurd.  All hale National Bike Month.

One of these bikes is for recreation and bike commuting and two might be considered toys

Well, in my process of not growing up too fast, or perhaps for the fact that I have grown up a bit I have learned the value in not taking myself too seriously.  There are moments when working on bikes, building a bike I am pleased with and ultimately getting to ride those bikes puts a smile on my face and I glimpse those childlike feelings of joy and adventure.  Another toy related instance occurred when I owned a bike shop when while working on a bike and out of pure frustration my brother threw his tools on the ground and yelled " I feel like a fucking kid!"  It was a moment of sadness for me to witness that.  Building a bike for oneself is not necessarily a matter of being self serving. It's a fun process particularly in the company of other bike folks who appreciate the process of having an idea to build something fun and practical.

As is often the case when one builds and works on several bikes, more often than not the bikes were for grateful customers happily receiving improvements made to their cherished bike.  It's not greed or feeling I have to prove something to myself or anyone else, it was and continues to be the simple joy experienced from having bikes in my life.

A bike as a fun recreational mode of transportation

I know there is nothing wrong with having a sense of confidence and it feels good knowing that if some mechanical issue were to surface with a bike I'm riding that I can repair or correct it.  However, always expecting the worst or being too hyper vigilant in anticipation of some unforeseen mishap can detract from the pleasure of riding.  Something for me to keep in mind moving forward in my adult life where I hear so many folks declare how they "keep it real" I am keeping my sense of innocence, a subject not emphasized at a school of hard knocks.  These new bike memoirs are to create better memories than what I was beginning to get used to.

Nowadays, I have a new direction, no longer a bike shop owner, not planning any big and huge 'round the world bike tours, not advocating for bike lanes, not teaching troubled youth how to work on bikes but at least I was able to contribute to some very good causes.  Happy National Bike Month, enjoy.