I was one of those suburban kids that grew up cycling on suburban streets without bike lanes (or even sidewalks). But I had a hard perimeter beyond which I was

I was one of those suburban kids that grew up cycling on suburban streets without bike lanes (or even sidewalks). But I had a hard perimeter beyond which I was not permitted to cross -- I was not allowed to leave my small neighborhood streets and use one of the larger roads that would have taken me somewhere useful. The only way to go to school was to take a bus (or be driven there by my parents) even though my elementary school was less than a mile away, and my high school was less than 3 miles away. With no sidewalks or bike paths, I can see why my parents wouldn't allow me to do either. With no safe way to bike across the small town (which was only around 8 miles from end to end), a car was the only viable option. But 15 years after leaving my bike behind in that small town, I discovered cycling as recreation and lived in a city that had enough cyclists and bike paths to make cycling safer and viable as transportation. I haven't looked back and now ride my bike for commuting and for general transportation - it's very convenient to ride downtown and not have to worry about parking (and since I can cut through a train station and a city park on my bike, it's faster than driving would be). When I was a teenager I thought that "reducing physical exertion" was a good thing, now that I'm almost 4 decades older, I welcome the chance to increase my physical exertion by commuting by bike.