Hot summer day. Middle of a training ride. I’ve just climbed over the crest of a long hill. Legs are burning, gasping for air, and desperately thirsty. As I sit back in the saddle and relax my pedal cadence, I reach for some water.

Grabbing the bottle from the cage, I take a sip of water and it happens in an instant. The motion of pulling the water bottle from the cage and the plasticky taste of the warm water inside are exactly the same as I’ve experienced thousands of times in decades of cycling. Nothing new, yet this time it is a trigger.

Time Machine. Suddenly, I am thirteen again. Rolling my BMX down the suburban streets we called home. Enjoying wind in my hair, warmth of the sun, and freedom. Such freedom! No worries, no deadlines, no schedules; just exploration and the expectation of adventure. In a word, wonderful.

The sensation of youth lasted but a short time…maybe fifteen seconds. I tried, once or twice, to re-activate the time machine. Same bottle grab, same swig of water – it didn’t work. I hold no sadness at this, for such magic is rare and only to be treasured.

My wish is that everyone could have an experience like that. To be transported back in time – for just a bit – to a moment in their life that was perfect. Twenty seconds of magic that blesses their trail run or bike ride or whatever else they find themselves doing. An eclipse of the mind that helps us remember that life has not always been – and will not always be – the crazy mess that is reported on the evening news.

Get up. Go out. Be. Do. Make memories that fuel your Time Machine.