Most of you know I ride a road bike for exercise. But many famous people are cyclists, people like Bill Walton, Lebron James, Matt Damon, Jennifer Aniston, George Clooney, Senator John Kerry, Pink, Patrick Dempsey, Reggie Miller, J Lo, and Heidi Klum. Bike share programs are growing around the US and world. As a bicycle guy, I really endorse that!
Here is what Lebron said:
“A bicycle, for me, was the only way to get around the city. If I wanted to meet some of my friends, travel across the city, go to school, play basketball-anything-the bicycle was the way I got around.”
But that was just part of it. A bicycle also represented freedom, James said.
“Me and my friends, when we got on our bikes, we would just ride,” he recalled. “Sometimes we would even get lost, because we’d be gone for so long. But there was a sense of joy and comfort. There was nothing that really could stop us. We felt like we were on top of the world.”
James had already gone above and beyond for his community in building the school and ensuring kids had a place to learn, but by giving them each a bicycle as well, it’s clear he wants his impact to go further than simply the class curriculum.
Now, rarely do I agree with him. But I do admire the fact that he has underwritten (to the tune of $8 million) a public school for his hometown of Akron. And that each child will receive a new bicycle. The freedom he is referring to also affected us as children. We could ride our bicycles up to the corner country grocery store for candy and ice cream. We could ride to meet our friends after school. And later, we could ride our bicycles about 3 miles into town.



