Nature Experience: Biking "Home"

Biking "Home"

For my second nature experience, I decided to go biking on the trinity trails with one of my good friends. 

I remember learning how to ride a bike when I was a kid with my twin brother and my dad. We lived near a golf course, so my dad decided to take us to learn how to ride a bike on none other than the golf course routes. Riding my bike down trinity trail reminded me so much of the golf course that I was in a stage of severe nostalgia. The grass was so green, neatly trimmed and went on for miles. It was strikingly similar to the Chenal Downs Golf Course that I grew up on. The nature that surrounds me seems so similar, like it is the same everywhere I go. 

Biking for about half a mile at this point, I don’t think I ever said a word. I was taking in all the sounds of nature that kept bringing me back to home. The little caterpillars that slowly came across the bike trails had me swerving much like I did when I was younger. The sounds of birds and trees swaying reminded me of the same atmosphere as on the golf course. 

At this point, my friend, little did I know, had been asking me for the past couple of minutes to stop for a water break. I was so lost in nature, I didn’t even notice. When we stopped, the rush of nostalgia was still there while we were drinking from our plastic water bottles that we attached underneath our bike seats. My dad always made sure that my brother and I had our water bottles filled with plenty of water in case we wanted to stay out longer than expected. In fact, we always ended up making another round of 18 holes on our bikes just so we could smell the freshly cut grass in the evenings. 

I think now that I’m older, I take the outdoors for granted. When I was younger, I was always outside climbing trees, riding my bike or going on trail walks with my dad who always made an effort to teach me the names of the different flowers we passed along the way. We even stayed up late when the stars came out to look at them through a telescope.

Today, I never stop and look up at the stars anymore. I never take the time to learn the names of flowers that grow alongside the sidewalk. I never climb trees anymore. This bike ride was the one moment in my day where I noticed how much of the world I have been missing out on. 

I forgot how much I loved the sun beating down on my skin and the wind catching my hair as I glided down the road on my bike. It was one of those days where I got to be a child again. Nature calms me and brings me back to my roots. Biking gets me back outside and easily wipes away all the worries I have built up. It’s magical, humbling and will always remind me of my family.