Originally Posted by ChiliDog
When I was 7 or 8 years old, we kids rode our bikes all day long. We rode all over town and out into the country and I think we probably covered more than 15 miles at a go. This was almost on a daily basis, as riding bikes was what we were about. We did it for fun, for adventure, and to get from point A to point B.
Life was simpler then, kids were not as soft as they are today.
And we walked 18 miles to school, uphill both ways, in knee deep snow... 
Nostalgia ain't what it used to be
Seriously though, I'm only 21, my parents would kick me out the door on any day it was nice, we jumped our Walmart specials 3-4ft off of crappy home made jumps, went to the store and bought all the junk food we could carry and then rode around all day. My kids will do the same b/c its the best memories of my life. We would ride to the park and run around like crazed savages for a few hours, go play baseball at the rec center, or stare at the highschool girls at the pool (still do but now I am old enough to go inside the fence!!!)
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*Something to ponder...
The people that aren't letting the kids go out and play are YOUR (speaking to all those 30+ in this thread) generation. Its not the kids, its the parents!