Memories on 2 Wheels
December 2, 2013This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox, today’s prompt: “Take a poll and share the results. Is there something you’ve been curious about? A decision you’re struggling with? Ask the crowd, and report back on what the results might mean.”
I asked a question of “What is your earliest memory of riding a bike?” to the social media world this morning. I got a lot of feedback that made me smile and remember many of my own stories about learning about the world while on 2 wheels. The question also related perfectly to what I’ve been handling at work over the past few weeks.
With my daily tenure at Nine13sports and what we’re trying to make happen, memories and bicycles and being a child are a huge part of my 9-5. I know for me, the bicycle was the ultimate tool for freedom and I can still remember riding down the hill into the court of the house in Michigan, of the never ending loops I could do in the neighborhood of the house in Avon Lake, and terrorizing the neighborhood on 2 wheels when I moved to Ohio–all before the age of 10–and all shaped because of the bicycle being part of my life as a kid.
My preference would be to spend every single day at work with Kids Riding Bikes and not have to be juggling the business aspects behind the programming at Nine13sports. My recent effort has been to get people to remember what their favorite memory is on 2 wheels from when they were little and use that to garner involvement and support for Nine13sports. Almost everyone can relate to what a bicycle meant to their childhood, and my goal is to eventually give every student in Indianapolis a chance to experience 2 wheels in a safe and fun setting.
Do you remember your first time on 2 wheels? The freedom it brought you as a young teenager? Riding your bike till dusk and having to go home to dinner? If those memories are getting you to feel a bit nostalgic, consider giving the gift of creating memories on 2 wheels for kids here in Indianapolis and support the Kids Riding Bikes/Indianapolis Public Schools crowdfunding initiative: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kids-riding-bikes-in-indy
Thanks for reading about my passions and how I envision making Indianapolis even better.
-th
I don’t remember my first bike ride – I wish. But I’ll never forget that feeling when I got my first non-hand-me-down bike. With a cousin and sister that were two years older, I ALWAYS got their old bikes. One year my family surprised me with a cherry red ten speed. I felt like such a big deal.