ArtCrank.com has gathered stories from across the country from people who love biking just as much as you do. These stories range from the extreme and intense, to feel-good, heartwarming stories that make you smile. There is a story in this compilation for everyone, and since the 2014 cycling season is already off to a fast start, these stories will help you get pumped up that much more to hit the road and begin to make new biking memories for 2014.
A Few Stories that Will Make You Want to Ride
The following stories come straight from ArtCrank’s 2013 compilation and can be found, along with many other stories, through the link at the beginning of this article.
Dena Driscoll (@bikemamadelphia)
2013 was a year of bike memories for me–the first year I rode in snow, the first year I rode 41 weeks pregnant and the first full year of Kidical Mass Philly, amongst other milestones.
I somehow convinced my husband that in 2013 we should buy an Urban Arrow box bike, as it was great way to carry our children. My husband fell for the idea as much as I did, and at 38 weeks pregnant we bought the bike.
I had a successful VBAC that resulted in the birth of our baby girl at the end of April. Exactly 5 weeks after, we strapped her car seat in, and I took her for her first ride.
The experience of watching your newborn being lulled to sleep by the movement you produce while riding a bike is powerful. I felt strong and happy, which in the early postpartum stage can be rare. Taking that spring day’s ride slow and steady was healing both for my body and mind. That ride sealed the deal that this bike would give my children a lifetime of memories.
Hank Hansen
We rose early in Crescent City, grateful to have slept indoors instead of in our tents for the first time on the trip. The head start was essential, because the longest climb of our journey thus far was waiting for us just outside of town, and we had to make it over the pass and out of the redwoods by 10am. Willy, being the wonderfully ridiculous human being that he is, had a phone interview scheduled, so he needed to get beyond the woods if he hoped to have any sliver of cell reception.
As the climb started ramping up in intensity, and I acquainted myself with my granny gear, I watched Willy rise up out of his saddle and start to hammer until he was out of my sight completely. Nothing like the prospect of future employment to inspire you to crush a climb, I guess. I wouldn’t catch up to him again until, after what seemed like hours of spinning methodically up through the belly of the forest, I finally crested a rise in the highway and came out into a clearing. There was Willy, pacing a roadside turnout in his bright red shorts, phone pressed to his ear, ocean backdrop just beyond him. Success.
When three friends and I set out to traverse the Pacific Coast by bike, we were all floating in the uncertain realm between graduation and employment. It’s only now, months later, that this particular scene really resonates. An ocean vista and an interview. A taste of things to come, gently interrupting the picturesque present moments that defined our lives for those three weeks in September. Oh, and by the way, he got the job. Congrats, Wilbur.
All of us at Christensen & Hymas hope that you enjoyed these stories and that you will take the time to read the other stories at ArtCrank.com and, more importantly, to make stories of your own in 2014. Ride safe and have fun.
If you want to submit your story from 2013 to ArtCrank, contact them at this link.
Photos from ArtCrank’s original article.