Well.ca / blog

If you ride a bike then you know that the two wheels beneath you are often slaves to geography. Inclines or the more appropriately termed “rolling hills,” often sneak up on a rider. Personally, I look forward to climbing hills, slopes, inclines and cliffs, hilltops, knolls, ramps and parking garages, in any shape or form. In fact, I plan my rides around them. Like a mini Kilimanjaro these elevations test my will, endurance and lung capacity, these are all good things. The human desire to summit any imposing elevation, large or small, is a seemingly inborn human trait cultivated during childhood. I do, however, cling nostalgically to my earliest memories of my first bike.

Riding a bike is a lot like riding a wave. It’s this variability that challenges and endears riders. I have been a bike junkie from the first moment I crashed my BMX off of a homemade ramp when I was six years old. All of the bruises and scrapes made it that more attractive and fun.

Today I take off for rides on the trails or on the roaming country roads that surround my home. What I have come to realize is that riding a bike is part of a culture that has set its roots in our collective childhoods. That nostalgia for youthful freedom is most tangible when the joy of summiting an imposing incline negates the physical pain caused by climbing it. So love your inner child, ride a bike and wear a helmet.

You can also direct your web browser to Speed River Bicycle’s road routes section to find your own hill infused bike route in Guelph. For some route ideas in Toronto, see BlogTO’s list of Top Toronto Bike Paths.