met·a·phor/ˈmetəˌfôr/

Noun. 1) A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. 2) A thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else, especially something abstract.

Consider a man riding a bicycle.  Whoever he is, we can say three things about him.  We know he got on the bicycle and started to move.  We know that at some point he will stop and get off.  Most important of all, we know that if at any point between the beginning and the end of his journey he stops moving and does not get off the bicycle he will fall off it.  That is a metaphor for the journey through life of any living thing, and I think of any society of living things.  —William Golding

The hardest part of raising a child is teaching them to ride bicycles.  A shaky child on a bicycle for the first time needs both support and freedom.  The realization that this is what the child will always need can hit hard.  —Sloan Wilson

Life is like riding a bicycle — in order to keep your balance, you must keep moving. —Albert Einstein

I suppose that was what attracted me to the bicycle right from the start. It is not so much a way of getting somewhere as it is a setting for randomness; it makes every journey an unorganized tour. —Daniel Behrman, The Man Who Loved Bicycles

A bicycle ride is a flight from sadness. —James E. Starrs, The Literary Cyclist

Why reinvent the wheel when you can tighten the spokes? —Unknown

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime. Teach a man to cycle and he will realize fishing is stupid and boring. —Desmond Tutu

Related Reading

• Wednesday Words: Bicycle Quotations on Life and Civilization
• Wednesday Words: Bicycle Quotations on Experiencing the Moment
• Wednesday Words: Bicycle Quotations on Women, Fashion, and Emancipation

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