We asked our new interns what their favorite childhood memory on a bicycle was–here’s what Emily Wilbur, a Kinesiology and Exercise Science major at IUPUI, wrote:
Growing up, I couldn’t wait to get home from school and play outside with my friends. I used to daydream about running around the neighborhood and chasing each other on our bikes until it was time for dinner. I’m sure the neighbors are glad I grew up and stopped causing havoc.
Looking back on my wild childhood, I think my best memory was when I was 5 or 6 years old. My family used to have a dog named Daisy. Daisy used to be my best friend, we would do everything together. Now, Daisy was a little on the heavy side (about 100 pounds), so getting her to exercise was not always the easiest task. Can you imagine a little 40 pound girl trying to walk this massive animal down the street? Not happening, let me tell ya.
Dogs and bikes are a pretty awesome combination.
So, my mom used to walk Daisy. Well, one day I decided to give mom a break. I tied Daisy’s leash to my bike handlebars and went for a ride. I was a little skeptical at first because I didn’t know how she would react. After a few minutes, Daisy got the swing of things. I would ride my bike next to her on the side walk and she’d walk right alongside me.
This went on almost every day, as long as it was sunny. I hooked Daisy’s leash up to my bike like I did every other day. Except this day, I brought my friend Lily who brought a wagon. We attached her wagon to my bike and off we went. Daisy was riding alongside me until she saw a squirrel. Holy cow, did we go flying. Daisy pulled us halfway down the street until the squirrel climbed into a tree for shelter. I turned around to make sure Lily was okay and I had never seen her smile so big before!
From that day on until Daisy died, Lily met at my house with her wagon and we went for a ride with Daisy. To a couple 5 and 6 year olds, it felt like we were riding a homemade roller coaster. It was at that moment, that I realized how fun and unique exercise could be. Daisy also lost about 20 pounds in the midst of our adventures.