To be Sixteen again...the bicycle ride.

Today I rode my bike like a sixteen year old; by following my sixteen year old.

I rode on the sidewalk, did not wear my helmet or sunglasses, and wore flip-flops instead of a good pair of sneakers. I was reliving my teenage years by doing exactly what my own teenager was doing. Riding uninhibited and breaking the rules!

I like to think of myself as a ‘free-spirit’ in general and today was a great lesson in how very, very wrong I am.

Today, I went down a hill in a parking lot because it’s fun. I weaved my bike onto every newly paved driveway available. I stuck my foot out to the side to feel some long, beautiful grass on my foot and leg from a lawn in dire need of a haircut. It was wonderful. I rode straight through a garage sale…and made the patrons move off of the sidewalk without a word.  I peddled backwards on the down hills instead of just coasting. At a stop light, I followed my daughter down a new street and instead of patiently waiting for the light to turn green, she changed direction and  took me down a foreign sidewalk and then across a street. At that point she opted to ride on the grassy boulevard and I stuck to the road. It was an opportunity lost and instantly regretted.  My adult self got in the way of a beautiful, care-free moment.

We wove through a forest that I didn’t know existed in the twenty-plus years we have lived in this neighbourhood. We came out a tight curve and I nearly fell off of the trail and down a steep slope. This trail was clearly designed by the youth of the area. We looped through a few streets via cat-walks and though I walk with my husband and friends this way often, my daughter started riding her bike on the wrong side of the street. My maternal, nagging, instincts came rushing forth.

“Why are you riding on the wrong side of the road?!!”

My daughter did not respond, but led me to a new, undiscovered (by me), cat-walk. I was at that moment glad she ignored me (there is apparently a first time for everything) and was amazed I had walked these streets for decades and never knew that particular path existed.

I rode my bike over bumps that grew out of people’s driveways. I went back down the other side of the hill in the parking lot, over a wooden bridge that apparently provides rickety, bumpy fun, only when atop a bicycle. It doesn’t do that when you walk on it. That was awesome and I will do that again.  We proceeded through a school yard on asphalt, gravel and some grass.

This half-hour adventure truly opened my eyes. I discovered that my perception of self has been morphed and changed by the rigors of society and ‘rules.’ I have learned that I ‘do’ actually try to control my kids (I usually deny that and just tell them to listen to me). I am indeed the ‘mother-goose’ my husband calls me lovingly (mockingly) when we are out and about.  I nag. I am a controlling drudge at times. I have been afraid to let go and trust my kids to make wise decisions. I have been afraid to let my kids follow their own path and trust they will land on their feet if I just let go…

Today’s small bike ride around the neighbourhood taught me that I need to veer from the path once in awhile to truly experience the joys of spontaneity, to face the bumps in life with joy and abandon, trusting that I will land and have a smooth ride after the bumps. That new routes lead to undiscovered treasure. New grass feels incredible on your feet and old, rickety wood bridges make a special kind of music and are fun to ride over. Breaking the rules once in a while is actually kind of (a LOT of) fun. I learned that when my daughter ignores my call, she is still having fun in a respectful manner. Her fun isn’t hurting anyone; it’s just feeding her soul. 

This daydreamer is grateful that I got off of my chair, and asked my daughter if I could ride with her on her bicycle adventure; as it fed my soul too.