Bike

I have very clear memories of my father riding home from work on his red Cannondale road bike, making a left onto Point Bluff Drive and pedaling towards our house in Decatur, Illinois with his hands completely disregarding the handlebars. 
There was something about that bike that is hard to explain now. As a kid, the fact that my Dad had a road bike was the coolest thing. I do not really remember verbalizing this as much as it being an idea in my head. In addition to the bike, his compression shorts, fingerless gloves, and wool Colnago jersey put "Dad as a biker" at deity status. 
Fast forward to 1999 when my Dad purchased a new Raleigh road bike from Jim's Bike Shop. The knick in the fork decal decreased the price making it quite a deal, something he talks about to this day. Full aluminum aero frame, carbon fork, and Shimano Ultegra with Flight Deck. This was our first encounter with STI (Shimano Total Integration) gear shifting, which is where the shifting mechanism is combined with the brakes. It was the coolest thing we had ever seen, and only increased our desire to "be like Dad".
A couple years after he bought the Raleigh, we spent a summer fixing up the old Canny, complete with a new paint job and decal set. I bought a pair of aero bars for it because as an early high school student, this was very cool.  Next I purchased a pair of clip in shoes from REI Outlet, and I was all set.  
No one else we knew at the time was into road biking, so there was a cool feeling of exclusivity that came along with riding.
Over the years, I road less and less. The shoes got tight. I graduated High School. I started playing more music. Then I moved out, making the the Canny significantly less accesible. 
This past summer my Dad purchased a brand new GT road bike with full Carbon frame and SRAM Red components. He also upgraded most of his gear and accessories as well. The guys at Performance Bike loved him. A couple months later, my brother Khristian followed suit and purchased a Cannondale Super Six full carbon road bike with SRAM Apex components. This obviously only helped grow my desire to finally get my own road bike.
I started shopping around and had my eyes on a few bikes that ended up falling through. While I was searching, it came up in a conversation with my friend Jason that I was looking for a bike. He told me to call his buddy Craig who works at a bike shop out in Pittsburgh, PA. After a talk with Craig on the phone, followed up by an email with specs and pictures of a few bikes, I made a trip out to PA to test ride a Scott Addict R2. It was a spiritual experience, a bonding moment between the bike and I. 
Over the next 6 months I paid for the entire bike and in April, Jason and I headed back out to Pittsburgh to pick up my bike. 
The first ride with my dad several weeks ago was a surreal and exciting experience. 26 years in the making. 
I feel lucky to have such an amazing opportunity to bond and spend time with my Dad. This is something I will not soon take for granted. 
It would be awesome to go back to Decatur and ride from Wallace laboratory to 112 Point Bluff Drive. But as my family could tell you, I would probably wreck from the tears clouding my vision.