Kids On Bikes

One of the motifs I feel like comes up again and again in my writing is kids on bikes.1 There’s something about kids riding around on bikes that feels adventurous, and there’s also something about that age before you can drive that I find really fun. It’s not just that driving is a symbol of adulthood, it’s also that bikes are unconstrained when you compare them to cars. Cars have to follow road rules, they’re licensed, etc. When kids ride bikes, they ride them everywhere–grass, gravel roads, backwards down the street–basically without any rules. It’s a very different kind of freedom than a car, one based on daring rather than societal permission.

Obviously I’m not the only writer who loves putting kids this age on bikes. I seem to remember it being in a lot of Stephen King, and I particularly noticed it in Stranger Things, which I am finally watching.

I’ll probably keep watching Stranger Things because it’s light and amusing and at this point I’m tired of not getting what the hell people are talking about, but I actually don’t like it all that much. I’m not that into horror and it’s not quite scifi enough for me. One thing I really do like about it is the kids being in an almost separate world from the adults, which is a big Stephen King thing as well. Bikes are a big part of that. I like that world of being old enough to really get out in the real world, but also being young enough to imagine and play.

I also really like toaster waffles. Mostly this show makes me eat waffles. Yeah, I’m probably not going to stick with it. We’ll see. I’m gonna go get a waffle.

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We might also highlight: climbing out of windows, negligent parents, old movies, books, art, unlikely athletes, drinking and drug use, mental health issues, broken hearts, and a bunch of other lazy things that it’s clear have little to do with story and more to do with capitalizing on my own strengths. Write what you know, as they say.