I have this memory of when I was a child, probably about seven years old.  I got up one summer morning and I looked out the front door and it was a beautiful day.  I ran to get dressed and then ran, full speed, outside to my bike.

It was summer.  No school.  Totally free.  I could do whatever I wanted to do and what I wanted to do was ride.  It didn’t matter that my riding world was limited to my block only and that I basically rode around in circles again and again and again.  It was the feeling of speed - of the breeze I created for myself blowing through my hair - the feeling of pleasant exertion that translated into elation.

I remember sucking in a deep breath of freshly-mowed-grass-scented air and standing on my pedals, I coasted in the morning sunlight and just felt GOOD. 

This past summer, my husband and I rediscovered a bit of that when we started riding our bikes on a pretty much daily basis.  No longer limited to just one block, I wanted to discover something new during every ride.  Some days we rode the paved bike trail nearby, on other days we’d explore a new street or neighborhood.  We’d push our way up a hill just to feel that cool exhilaration coming down the other side.  I loved riding but when summer was over Mike went back to working nights and I lost my riding partner.

I didn’t much like riding by myself.  At all.

The indoor exercise bike isn’t about “bike-riding” in the sense that *I* think of bike-riding.  It’s merely a convenient form of aerobic activity.  I’m doing it because I want to burn calories, not at all for the joy of it.

I can’t wait for summer.