Yup, used to ride our bicycles for miles and miles every day. We'd have contests to see who could rack up the most miles on our odometers etc.
We all played football, baseball, soccer, basketball. We would be gone ALL DAY LONG.. I just had to be "home" before dark, which meant, I just had to be within' whistling distance from my old man
Which meant I could be up to like a block away, and still here him.
As far as outdoor escalators, I remember seeing one at a Football stadium during the playoffs , forget where it was.