I love to ride my tricycle....

I have a tricycle. Yep, three wheels for me. Along with all the other indignities the aging process has cast upon me, I lack balance. When we lived in Minnesota there were bike paths everywhere, so I expressed a desire for a bike for me and one for the husband so that we could enjoy biking together. So, off he goes and purchases a couple of matching 10 speeds. I must back pedal a bit now into my childhood. I was not at all enthusiastic to learn to ride a bike as a child. I remember the Christmas that I got my first bicycle with training wheels. I was utterly and profoundly disappointed. I bawled.....why had I gotten a bike instead of a doll. I had expressed no desire for the bike at all and could not figure out why Santa had betrayed me. I was 6 years old and I guess my parents thought it was time for me to learn to ride a bike. Maybe they should have put a basket on the front all tricked out to be a doll carrier..... Anyway, I reluctantly learned to ride without the training wheels. I was very cautious and refused help, just finally got it on my own after numerous falls. As I grew I graduated to bigger bikes, but not ones with hand brakes and speeds on them. I tried out a friend's once and couldn't get the hang of it--no, actually hated it. I didn't learn to roller skate, either. I once tried out a pogo stick and, well, let's just say it was very sad. I think I am trying to say that I am not athletically inclined. Thankfully there weren't cell phones with video capabilities during my awkward childhood, as I am sure I would have been quite a star. Okay, back to my sweet husband's thoughtfulness in denying me the opportunity to choose my own ride. He brings home the bikes and he is ready to go. We lived in a cul-de-sac and he is riding round and round impatient for me to get on and go for a ride. I swing my leg over and kind of straddle this impressive looking bike with all these cords leading to the handle bars. "What's wrong?" he asks. "Well didn't they have just a plain bike without all this stuff on it?" I want to know. "What are you talking about?" he demands. I wave my hands at all the unnecessary gadgetry and say, "Just a bike without all this." "Oh, you wanted a 3 speed? That's kind of lame." he says. I feel like smacking his smug athletic face. "No, I wanted a plain old bike that had no gears and no brakes." I say. "Oh, you don't want that, this will make it a lot easier to go uphill and the brake will help a lot, it stops you faster than braking manually." was his reply. I try once again to explain to him that I don't feel comfortable with the bike and finally give up and get on the stupid thing. I ride around the cul-de-sac a couple of times--all the while aware that the neighbors can see me if they happen to look out. I am already having trouble with the gears and Drew is speaking to me like I am 5 years old (and it is not helping). So I go on to the bike path that runs along side a fairly busy road thinking that I would prefer strangers in their cars watch me disgrace myself to having the neighbors watch me. We have to cross the road to get to the park, Drew glides smoothly across at a break in traffic---I get off and walk the bike across the road. He actually stopped and laughed at me. I am not having fun. We bike through the park and he stays alongside telling me how to gear up and gear down. By now I think he may have discovered that he made a mistake when he bought this bike for me. When we are ready to cross the road again, he encourages me to stay on the bike. Unfortunately, we are on a decline and as I cross I begin picking up speed and I am trying to gear the thing and can't and instinct takes over and I pedal backwards hoping to brake......... I end up jumping down and using my feet to stop the bike. So graceful, so very graceful. It's okay to laugh, I am. He bought me a three speed with an extra wide seat for Christmas that year. It was deja-vu and I was 6 years old again. I would have preferred cookware. The three speed was no less confusing for my hands and feet to coordinate with my brain. When we moved here I asked for a tricycle, it took a while for him to locate one, but he did. It is blue and has a big white basket on the back that I equip with a pillow so that Emmy can ride with me. I love to ride my tricycle.......