Merry Christmas, cycopaths
The Green Bike of Barranquilla.
I remember getting a green bike when I was around four or five.
At the time, my family lived in Colombia. That meant no snow. No sledding. No hot cocoa. Just sun and heat.
I don’t remember many details about the bike, but it was green and I loved it. And since we lived in Colombia, in Barranquilla — a port city off the Caribbean Sea — the weather was nearly always favorable.
One day, I remember riding the green bike around a circular track at a park. On the outside were rocks, big ones. Somehow, I managed to fall off my bike and crash into the rocks. My head hit one of them, and I was bleeding. My parents ran over and whisked me from the rock pit and rushed me to a clinic, where I ended up getting stitches.
I still have a faint scar on my forehead.
Loved that bike.
This year, we bought a balance bike for our almost-three-year-old daughter. It’s purple and pink and perfect. I hope the memory of walking down the stairs and seeing the bike wrapped in a bow is made indelible for her.
Merry Christmas, cycopaths. I hope this holiday brings you and yours joy.
Do you have memories of receiving a bike as a gift, on Christmas or another holiday or birthday? Tell us about it in the comments or jump over to a brand new addition to my Substack publication: the Cycotherapy subscriber chat.
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