Flying
at the canoe park
Do you remember your first bike? When you first learned how to ride? When they finally let go of the seat and you flew solo? The utter terror...and total exhilaration?
It was my 6th birthday. My grandma took me to a bike store and let me pick the coolest, the shiniest, the fanciest looking bicycle they had (at least in my 6-year old opinion ;-)
My older brother taught me how to ride - it took less than half an hour - and I was flying up and down our hilly neighborhood. Do you remember that feeling of absolute power and freedom? I don't think I ever felt like that again...
"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle I no longer despair for the future of the human race." H.G. Wells
17 comments:
I remember my first bike! I also remember going over the handle bars, but I didn't care, I got right back up and went to pedaling!
I remember my first bike - a "Huffy", red, with all the things on it that boys usually take right off. Like the chain guard, the fenders (splash guards) - right down to the essentials - no "girly" stuff :)
Have you read "I feel bad for my neck" by Nora Ephron?
It is a good book. If you like David Sedaris, you would like this collection of essays too. There are a couple of chapters on menopause that I don't identify with since I'm a man but the others are hilarious. I love her last chapter (or second last) about things she wish she knew when she was younger.
This photo will bring back memories for many bloggers. The black and white gives it a dream-like quality for me. Good shot!
I do remember my first bike....it was red, and it took a long, long, long looonng time for me to learn how to ride it.
And I was older than six.
The bicycle is one of the most underrated inventions of all time (except by HG Wells). It's success is exemplified by the fact that although we've had 150+ years of tinkering with the design (depends where you start counting) it ultimately remains the same. When I was reading last weeks posts, I didn't comment much - that's because I was thinking "If it was me, i'd be on my bike ..". Thanks for the photo - it reminds me that you can get places and do things (like just stopping to take a photo) that you cannot do in a car (most overrated/overrused invention of all time). I do remember my first bike - em, it was somebody else's - we were too poor
Mine was blue and a Raleigh but I can't remember exactly how old I was...I do remember I loved it and rode it till I was much too big.
The photo brings back all those lovely memories...beautiful.
Angela
And my first camera was a Brownie!
tres bon choix du b&w, cela va tres bien avec ta photo et son coté feerique. Personnellement je ne me souviens pas de mon premier velo, mais je rappelle d'avoir pleurer quand E.T. s'envole avec le velo dans le ciel. Je te souhaite un bon weekend
very good choice of the b&w, that goes very well with your photograph and its with dimensions fairy-like. Personally I do not remember my first bicycle, but I recall to have to cry when E.T flies away with the bicycle in the sky. I wish you a good weekend
Riding a bike is indeed somekind of freedom. I had to share my first bike (with 4 other siblings :p) When I finally broke away from the tri-cycle, the small achievement seemed enormous :)
My first (and only) bike of my childhood was big, black, and second hand, bought for 10/- from my mum's friend. We lived at the top of a very steep unpaved lane, so my first experience of "flying" was to push the bike up to the top of the hill, and freewheel all the way to the bottom, and then start again. I didn't learn to pedal until much later!
I dont' remember my first bike, but I remember learning to ride without training wheels for the first time. Quite a wonderful memory. It's strange how you never forget how to ride, isn't it?
I have zero recall of my first bike, although I had many of them. I was a reckless tomboy in my youth--acrobatic, balancing on oil drums and rolling around with my feet in the air, climbing the highest trees, and always crashing bikes. Most of my childhood I had a scab or two or three somewhere on my body from one of my falls. I broke out all my baby teeth in one of my crazy stunts.
I'm still hung over from the boat party, I'm not getting on that thing.
Oh I absolutely remember my first bike and (as most here) was red !!! By the way I love so much your shot, B&W, sun in the water reflection: yes it takes back in our youngness :-)
Thank you all for sharing your first bike stories! We might be geographically oceans apart, but this is another experience we have in common...
Ming - yes I read Ephron's latest - some funny stuff ;-)
Right now I'm re-reading Sedaris' "Holidays on Ice"!
As usual no teacher here too. It was self taught. It was a big bike belonging to a visitor to my house who was busy talking to my dad. I took his bicycle. The first ride took me right between the legs of an old woman who was carrying a basket of Jilebis (sweets) on her head, swinging a stck to drive away the flies. I dropped the bike there and ran back home. the bike was brought home by a neighbour. I disappeared for the whole day.
Ahh, yes. Mine was red too. I am trying to remember who thought me it, no succes so far...But I remember how proud I was and soo happy...
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