I remember my first bicycle. It was my sixth birthday and my father pulled up in the driveway, a red Firestone bike squeezed into the backseat of his 1967 Mustang.

That was in 1971. I didn't know how to ride just then but after a few scrapes and falls, I figured it out.

Justin Falls/Daily Advance (ENLARGE)

Riley Ball, 9, stands on her bicycle with one foot on the cross beam and one on the handle bars as she rides with her friends, Alexandra Williams,8, (back right), and Katie Jane, 7, (not seen), up and down Main Street in Elizabeth City last April. The joy of riding a bike is a sort of childhood right of passage. However, these days many adults are finding it a fun and economical means of travel throughout the area.

On that first ride, when I found my balance, I was on the sidewalk just above my house. The bike wobbled a bit beneath me as the balance came. My friend Matthew Lee was in the background cheering me on after having chided me for failing to fly on that day I had my new, red bike.

As a child the bicycle liberated me and I was able to go places I'd never thought possible. I could cover great distances in my neighborhood in quick time.

The bicycle served as a tool but it was also an extension of my imagination. Over the years I would be Starsky or Hutch as we played high-speed games of cops and robbers, or I would be a stunt rider, catching air off of ramps in my front yard, occasionally flying from the bike, landing on my back, gasping for air.

I was like any child with a fascination for wheels. I loved the speed and I loved freedom. I had arrived once I could pedal freely.

Of course growing older I did the next thing and graduated to motors. I had a moped in the early 80s, before I could drive a car. Then I would have a car, a 1973 Super Beetle VW, with extended dash.

I think I even had a bike somewhere in my grandparents' garage.

It was around 1993 when I would get another bike. Again for my birthday, only this time it was a gift from my wife. That bike and I would stay together until recently, when I upgraded thanks to a friend, Blaine Bare, owner of The Kick Stand.

By upgraded I mean the bike is a little bigger, longer and built for commuting. And that's what this is about, commuting.

You see, I do love my truck, but my truck loves gasoline. And gasoline is not only a finite resource that shouldn't be taken for granted, it's also really expensive and my truck is really big.

So I began to develop a love for bicycles again. And, sure, it was sort of out of necessity at first, saving money being the goal, but suddenly I discovered a freedom I had forgotten; a freedom that a child knows when soaring down the blacktop as fast as your legs will move you, wind blowing, you weaving around obstacles.

The ride I make on a daily basis isn't long. It's only a mile one way. But it's what I make of it that counts and moreover, it makes sense.

It makes sense because I'm not burning fuel and crowding the road. In fact, I've successfully taken one of an estimated 125 million vehicles in the U.S. off the road. And, at 43-years old, I'm getting exercise; something I need to keep up with four young children.

But even fun and exercise have a price. The price to pay could be steep. One misstep on my part, or the part of a motorist, and I could be flat on my back.

I like riding my bicycle and have taken it on some pretty highly traveled roads like Halstead Boulevard — wearing a helmet is highly recommended. But it's the smaller streets of downtown Elizabeth City that make me nervous.

Many people riding bikes have taken to sidewalks. Some drivers have even yelled my way, admonishing me for not riding on the sidewalk.

Well, guess what: Since it seems some have forgotten the content of the written driving exam, I'll remind you that bikes have the same rights as cars on the road (see related story).

But that's not my purpose here, to admonish drivers. No, rather I just want to relish in the joy of riding a bike, feeling the wind on my face and enjoying the exhilaration of a sprint on my way to the office.

And I hope more will join me as I roll along the road of happy cycling.