
I’d just returned from a 30 mile ramble through the Portland suburbs when my 20 year-old son asked without a hint of irony, “Is biking fun?”
I had to stop and consider this for a moment.
When I was a kid, I would never have given it a moment of thought. After all, children will work hard to avoid anything that isn’t fun. And now, well past my childhood, I get on a bike almost daily for transportation, hauling stuff, exercise, and yes, sometimes for recreation.
But is it fun?

Biking is automatic. Because I don’t think much about operating a bicycle when I pedal, I just feel the motion and take in what lies ahead. That frees my brain from the things that usually trouble me, so biking is also therapeutic.
Going down a steep hill or around a tight bend is exhilarating. Keeping momentum without pedaling on a pump track is challenging. Dropping into a ramp and catching even a small air is exciting.

And goofing around with my friends as we pedal to some distant locale, teasing each other, stopping randomly, and not having to be anywhere at a specific time? Definitely fun.