Crazy For Riding

Every once in a while, in conversation, I have folks tell me that people, mostly their family, think their crazy for doing,, What Ever.

It use to be just riding in the rain, riding at night. Now that "everybody's doin it", Its things like on ice, in snow, listening to music while riding down the Charles on ice, or even just owning more then one bike. Riding a Recumbent comes close to the top of the list.

I have been called crazy for a number of reasons. Thinking outside the box intentionally to not connect myself with the norm, I have told friends, that if everybody rode bicycles, I would drive a car!

I had a guy come into the Bi-Ex in the late 70"s and ask if he could join me on one of my "Crazy Rides" he had been hearing about. Six years later, they were known as Mountain Bike Rides. Hmmmm,? Where's the Mountain?

The list of 'Crazy Bicycles" and where I have ridden them is Huge.

I think it started with one of my all time favorites. It was a 20" wheeled girls bike that Joe Fryer had cut an inch out of the top tube and welded it back together for a Super "Chopped and Channeled" front end. Fitted with a fork from a 26" wheeled bike, a Bendex 2 Speed hub and painted Battle Ship Grey, I had one of the coolest bikes Dover Center has ever seen. It was like no other, and it was mine.

One of my all time favorite places I rode was the "Skywalk" at the top of the Prudential Building one morning at sunrise. In the Spring of 1974, I was working for WBCN over night and took a break and did laps on my 1962 Raleigh Superbe 5 Speed alone above the city of Boston for about a half hour. Each lap, the sun was up just a little bit more. No one was there, I had the place to myself. It was beautiful and it too, was all mine.

There has been many beautiful spots and many wild machines.

I like to treat people as I would like to be treated myself. Its a good rule of thumb.

So now whenever I hear someone say, "People think I'm Crazy for riding my bicycle" I ask, "Do you suppose that the riding the bicycle part has anything to do with it?"

I always get a wide eyed smile.