Learning to Ride, Again

Learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage for kids in the U.S., but by the time most Americans reach adulthood, their bikes spend more time gathering dust than kicking it up. To try to reverse that trend, Bicycling Magazine recently conducted an interesting experiment in one city. They gave free bikes to 50 people in Portland, Maine, and followed up later to find out what happened. The results are funny, sad, and inspiring:

If Natalie Ladd had known just how happy a new bike would make her husband, Steve Harris, if she'd been able to foresee how it would bind their little family together, how her daughters would take to cycling, and to their new stepfather, she wouldn't have waited until she saw the advertisement offering free bikes; she'd have gone out and bought one, even if she had to sell her car and ride the bus to work.... Read more