So my Mom, who turns 75 in January, just got a new bike. And I realized it's the first time in my entire life that I've seen my mother ride a bicycle. Come to think of it, other than a few times when he was teaching seven-year-old-me to ride, I never saw my Dad ride a bike either. My parents simply didn't own bicycles.

And that realization got me thinking: How does ones' parents having (or not having) a bicycle affect our own perception of cycling?

I rode a bike all the time while growing up. From the time I learned at age 7 until I moved out of the house at age 17 I always had a bicycle. Pretty much rode non-stop throughout my 20s and 30s as a utility cyclist. Couldn't imagine living without a bicycle then. Became an avid recreational roadie in my mid-40s. And now, as a 53-year-old adult, I still can't imagine living without a bicycle.

Did anyone who's 50+ years old now have parents who owned bikes, who rode those bikes often, who couldn't imagine living without a bicycle? What was that like to grow up with? And did it make you more or less inclined to embrace cycling?

Can't wait to go for a ride with Mom next time I visit her! This will be a very new experience.