Meandering Experience | E3
EPISODE: THREE
Summertime often means bike riding. This is especially true for the too-young-to-drive crowd, or at least it used to be. Back when I fit that description, I did my fair share of riding bike. Living in a small town, we often rode not to reach a destination, but rather to experience the ride. The journey was the experience because sometimes that’s all there was to experience on a quiet day.
There have been a lot of changes to young lives today compared to back when I was an adolescent, but I think there are some fundamental similarities. Listening to music and taking photos, for example, offer some overlap of interest between then and now. Both generations wanting pictures to document what we’ve done and music to enhance the enjoyment of the events in our lives. Where we have diverged is our methods of access to each, in large part due to the technology available.
In the late 1990s and early 2000s there wasn’t Instagram, TikTok, or Spotify. If you wanted to take a picture of yourself, you had to either buy a cheap disposable camera or convince an adult to buy you either a film or digital camera. For film, there was the time sinking process of developing the photos. You could forget about any type of photo editing unless you had access to a dark room. If you wanted to listen to music, you mostly had a radio available. There were also cassettes and CDs, but those were sometimes cost prohibitive especially if you wanted to hear the newest music. Music on demand and cheap? Beyond decadent and not possible for us in those years.
If you had a job, you may have had a little of your own money. Starting work at about age 12 helped make it possible for me to acquire some coveted items. However, acquiring a device that cost $1000+ and included both music and photos, not to mention the whole world at my fingertips? Dream on, young one. Even if it did exist, being able to afford it? Let’s see…even when adjusting for inflation… yea, not as easily obtainable as it seems to be for many youngsters (or rather, their parents) today.
I am not certain how much of today’s youth would wander off on an adventure with no tether to the comfort and safety of their extra appendage – a mobile device. Maybe more than I would think? Then again, maybe that wouldn’t be wise these days, it was a different time back then. It was so engrained into our daily lives to head out the door and be back by sundown, especially in the summer. We didn’t have much of a choice. Since we didn’t have the “luxurious” pastime of seeking likes and approvals on the world wide web to keep us occupied, we needed to fill our time in other ways. So, we hopped on our Huffy or Schwinn with some small provisions slung across our backs. Off we would go without a firm plan, only with the subconscious desire to move and explore.
While the sun shone bright and the humidity increased in the Minnesota summertime, a bike ride out along the river road was a coveted activity that could take up much of the day. The destination was my family’s cabin, but there was no need for speed. We were in no rush to get there because there was plenty for us to do and see along the way.
As a group of girlfriends with no obligations and not much else going on, we could whittle away the day in those 6-7 miles with ease and enjoyment. On our bikes, along the road, was where we wanted to be. It was away from adults, or so we assumed. Plenty of adults were likely looking out their windows, checking on us, as we passed. The eyes on the street in a small town are often hidden and a surprise admonishment would sometimes take place from an unrealized encounter.
There was a time when we were biking across an overpass that provided an exit for the main highway into downtown Little Falls. It was the fastest way to get to and from a friend’s house, and an area where vehicles traveled at high speeds. Clearly not the best place for kids on bikes. That’s certainly what a friend’s Mother thought when she drove by, saw us, and later called my parents to let them know about this unwise passage we took. Frustrated and embarrassed back then to be “caught”, upon reflection now I am appreciative to have been a part of a community that was looking out for me.
Fortunately, we were mostly on the river road heading out to the cabin, river breezes providing a reprieve from the heat. Low traffic allowed us space to weave and wander back and forth across the road, gabbing and making up silly games. We also usually had music chirping from tinny sounding speakers.
An important companion for the ride was a little battery-operated radio strapped between my handlebars. There were no dancing videos, that was left to professionals on MTV not teens in their bedrooms. There was no self-curated playlist. There was just the DJ pumping out the jams they felt like playing that day and our eager ears ready to hear what came next. We’d hope for our favorites so we could sing along. Those knowing parents in the houses along the way likely bracing their ears, and their annoyance, against our young out-of- tune voices. Belting out the top 100 hits as we rode along, we would giggle and carry on the type of conversations that only pre-teens know how to formulate.
A scene from the film Now and Then with Christina Ricci and some other young actors depicts this wayward type of afternoon quite well. I used to love watching that scene back then because it felt practically like my friends and I had a film crew following us on our own adventures. Like we were those girls on the screen.
If I were to take the journey now, I don’t know that I could possibly slow my mind, mood or cadence to what it was back then. It’s more difficult now to wander, delay, or take great interest in the little things around me. I know that I would leave the mailboxes alone if I took that ride today. As kids, a fun part of the ride was to attempt to open the mailboxes as we rode by them and then race off hoping we weren’t seen. We felt like outlaws, considering tampering with the mail is a federal offense. We felt so lucky to have never gotten caught.
Eventually we would arrive at our destination. The reward was usually some sort of sugary treat, freeze pops being a favorite choice, and then a plunge into the cool waters of the river. Nothing couples better with a hot sticky bike ride than a cool dip in the water on a lazy late afternoon. Well, at least not for us. Maybe today getting the instant gratification of 100+ likes on a self-made bopping dance video short in the living room elicits the same level of endorphins. I’m not sure.
Either way, the music played and images captured for either experience are likely cherished equally as we all grow up a little each day and reflect back on the times that lead us into every day we are fortunate enough to continue to experience.