As for myself I grew up loving bikes, bike rides, bike races and any other thing having to do with bikes. At 14 I had a paper route or sub for others with a paper route. Having to get up at 4:00 in the morning wasn't so bad. I got to ride when no one was out and I still remember the smells at the time of the morning when there were no cars out and no winds or breezes. I used to ride or walk to school. In fact I had a friend and classmate who lived on the other side of town (back then in San Diego, the other side could have been 10 miles) and bike to school everyday.
In high school I met a friend of mine at a street corner early one morning with our bikes and crude panniers and headed north to Los Angles. We camped on the beach in San Clemente right next to the Western White House; President Nixon's old summer home. We got as far as Long Beach before heading back but we were hooked.
My next big ride wouldn't be until 1984, to ride north to Los Angles again to see the Olympic Bicycle Road race which was open to everyone. We rode up the day before putting in about 120 miles to get to our night's lodgings. The next day we rode to the venue to see the men's road race and watch Alexi Grewal win the U.S.'s first ever cycling gold medal.
After this I rode for fun and fitness but it wasn't until I took a two week bicycling trip around British Columbia, Canada that I really got into it again. I don't know what it is but the feeling of making my way around on a trip under my own power is intoxicating as it is practical.
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