Time for a little trip down memory lane.
Like any strapping young man growing up in the 80’s, bicycles and skateboards were the primary form of transportation. The first time you figure out balance via bike and board, it’s on! You immediately want to push past your abilities and explore surrounding areas you’ve yet to discover. In many ways I am exactly the same.
I moved from Tampa to North Alabama in the late 90’s and couldn’t care less about bicycles. I was a skater through and through. I met good ol’ Kyle steed and we would thrash every drainage ditch we could. Unfortunately he moved about a year after our lifelong friendship was established. This left me buddy-less. Low and behold… a fella down the street was an avid cyclist. I was intrigued. I convinced him to let me borrow his whip for a few days. He agreed. I was off and in exploration mode all over again!
At the time I lived a handful of miles from these dock’s. It was my first thought when I got on this freshly borrowed fredom machine. Packed a bag and headed out. I remember thinking how bad ass the dock’s were! All run down and rusting. It was as if you could sense the history of the place. I imagined all the busy hard working shipping traffic it must have handled at one point. Facing out from the docking warehouse is the Tennessee river with nice green hills in the background. It’s beautiful and quiet.
That was about 15 years ago. I’ve moved all over the country since then and have found myself living right back in North Alabama. Yesterday I picked up my Surly CorssxCheck all cleaned up with new wheels from Blevins Bicycle Co. I’d been extremely busy travel8ing, planning FOLLYCROSS, and continuing to promote the Ride x Create message. So, when I nabbed my bike back, it was time to go for a simple cruise. This cruise was only about 20 miles but I got to rip through some construction zones (aka impromptu cyclocross course) and head to The Dock’s! It was so rad. The sun was setting, I got to spend time with my favorite two wheeled machine, and there were beers and bike convo back at Blevins waiting for me! Needless to say… my heart was full!
I’d be willing to bet you fine folks have a similar stories. The Ride x Create vibe has no boundaries and offers endless life long joyous experiences. Take hold of said vibe and dominate good people of Follyland!
Cheers
RIDE x CREATE
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