Hmmm, well, I rode my bike as a kid of course, but that was just playing around. Then when I was around 15, I went to summer camp. They did a 30 mile trip, I think it was. It may have been 20, I don't know. To a kid who had only ridden up and down the street, it sounded like forever. I started going on rides before I went to camp, probably still only 2-3 miles total. I had an old hand me down road bike that someone had given me. Then at camp, they taught us how to shift and use the proper gears, how to ride in a pace line, how to look behind us or grab a water bottle without crashing. We worked up on our ride lengths. I remember the girls rode out to someone's house for a pool party while the boys traveled by bus. On the way back, the girls took the bus while the boys rode. I remember wanting to ride back with the boys, I was so thrilled with the whole thing.

I never really did anything with my newfound love, though. We lived in a rural area and I would have been terrified to ride on the narrow two-lane roads there. Then I went to college, got married, had kids. I rode a bike in college, but not far (I commuted 20 miles by car, but sometimes rode a bike around campus). About 10 years ago my husband & I bought matching mountain bikes from Sam's club. We went on a couple of trails but DH is the balls to the wall type and I'm...not. Plus I learned that I'm not really the offroad type. I just don't like the feeling of bouncing around so much...makes my vision go blurry and my head hurt.

Then one day a few weeks ago while I was out and about I saw someone riding. I see people all the time, so I don't know what was different here, but I thought, "I want to go ride". So I got home, dragged out my poor bike, and went for a 5ish mile ride at around 1 pm in 105+ degree weather. Dumb idea, but for whatever reason I felt that I *needed* to go on that ride. And I've felt compelled (most) mornings to go ride ever since.