One of his favorite memories is the day he first got his training wheels off and experienced that exhilarating taste of freedom, seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong told an adoring Madison crowd Sunday morning at Ride the Drive.

Eschewing spandex for the moment, Armstrong spoke for nearly five minutes on the Capitol Square before leading the crowd on a leisurely, six-mile ride through closed-off streets of Madison.

He said he remembers riding down the driveway, hitting the street, going left to right and heading down to the corner. “You take that corner and all of a sudden mom or dad or grandma or grandpa is not watching you and you’re totally free.”

That moment is clear to him even now as he nears 40, he said. Riding a bike just for fun and for fitness, he still appreciates that feeling of freedom.

“As somebody who spends a lot of time on bikes and on roads, the idea that there’s one less car and one more bike on the road is a dang good idea in my opinion,” he said to cheers and applause.