i want to ride my bicycle

I was 20 years old when "Bicycle Race" was released in 1978.
Written by Freddie Mercury, its exuberant tone and sense of freedom spoke to me.
After all, I was an avid bike rider myself and knew the thrill of riding with my hair blowing behind me - oh, yes!
Freddie was not quite 32 when he wrote it earlier that year.
Now, having seen "Bohemian Rhapsody" twice now, I have to wonder if the lyrics might have a message about other types of freedom for him and for Queen.

The freedom to use his voice to its full range, not that typical for rock or pop genres.
Because of his additional teeth, Freddie's four-octave-ish vocal ability allowed him to easily slide to whatever note was needed at any given time.

The freedom to incorporate different musical stylings into the songs.
The band refused to do songs in the same style from one album to another. That made their music difficult to categorize as rock or pop or disco.
They also refused to just write ballads or songs in a particular format.

The freedom to use everyday items - such as bicycle bells - as musical instruments.
Queen excelled at seamlessly incorporating oddities into their musical arsenal, such as metal pails on microphones and marbles on drum heads.

The freedom to write about anything and everything that struck their fancy.
This particular tune was inspired by the Tour de France, an actual bicycle race that was held - fortunately - close by to their recording studio for their seventh album, "Jazz".
Brian May was likewise inspired to pen "Fat-Bottomed Girls" as a companion piece. Both songs became singles on the same 45.

The freedom to be comfortable with their sexuality.
Freddie Mercury was the only one who was bisexual, but they all referred to each other as 'queens', the slang term for gay males.
Given their long hair, they no doubt had heard the term applied toward them a time or two and had chosen to not get ruffled by it, but to embrace it.

Good for them!
They knew who they were and didn't allow the critics to tell them otherwise.
Their fans knew who they were, too, and embraced this quartet of misfits...
as did I...
a young Southern woman off in the US Navy...
doing a traditionally male job as an electronics maintenance technician...
exploring the cultures of worlds new to me.
Queen generously provided a soundtrack for my life, full of the rich diversity of the four men composing this wealth of songs in a myriad of styles that challenged my body to dance and my voice to sing along.
i thank you all...