A bicycle is many things… a wonderfully elegant example of human ingenuity and craftsmanship. An efficient form of transportation. A builder of self-confidence, health, and wealth
A bicycle is a wonderful learning tool, providing valuable life lessons in personal limitations and how to overcome them. It is a tool for self-confidence
And at any age, a bicycle is freedom. As a child, a bicycle opened up my world from a few square blocks to a few square miles. As a young adult, a bicycle provided freedom from the stress of college and the workplace. And later, a bicycle helped enable freedom from the need for income
I look forward to making many more great biking memories
1980 – Received my first bicycle for my birthday. Rode it so much the training wheels fell off. My Dad spends hours with me in the backyard teaching me to ride. Crashed into house, parked car, and tree. Learned better balance and eye-hand coordination
1983 – Built a ramp with a board and a wagon. Landed on front tire and smashed face into the ground. Learned how to build better ramps
1984 – Got BMX pads and kit for my birthday. Rode dirt trails all summer
1986 – Spent whole summer riding no-handed. Got really good at it. Crashed into our porch. Learned to be more aware of my surroundings
1987 – After a long winter, I raced my bike into town and down a steep hill. Watched front tire roll away in front of me. Lost all skin on both arms and chin and broke left wrist. Learned the importance of spring maintenance
1988 – Got a ride from a friend on his bike. Fell off the back onto the tire. Couldn’t sit down for 2 weeks and learned one possible definition of blue balls
1989 – Bought my first 10 speed bike with money earned from mowing lawns. Rode 20+ miles a day all summer. Tried to scare a friend by pretending I was going to run him over with my bike… accidentally ran him over. Learned that not all jokes are funny
1990 – Rode my bike 15 miles to a friend’s house. He wasn’t home. Rode back home. Learned to plan ahead
1991 – Bought my first mountain bike (brand new 2 year old model for 75% off) with money from summer job. Rode it on dirt trails all summer
1992 – Found great dirt trails and a half pipe in the woods. Got a ticket from the police for not having my bike registered with the city. Impressed girls and lost respect for authority
1996 – Got a bike rack for the car. Went for long rides in the woods amongst the fall leaves. Learned stress management
Bike in Tree on Vashon Island
1998 – Rode dirt trails in Wisconsin and West Virginia with friends on short holidays
(The grounded years – worked too much and didn’t ride)
2003 – Rode the 8 miles to work one day after a long period of inactivity. Almost vomited and felt dizzy. Too many hills. Didn’t ride again for a long time. Learned to make regular exercise a priority
2005 – Sold my sad neglected mountain bike for $1 at a garage sale. Learned one great reason to buy things used
2007 – Rode with friends through the 2.5 mile long tunnel on the Iron Horse trail. Promised myself to start riding again
Tunnel on the Iron Horse Trail outside Seattle
2008 – Bought a bike on Craigslist for $50, started riding to work regularly. Fell in love with biking (again.) Learned that even biking is “just like riding a bike”
2009 – Went to Burning Man for the first time. Learned to ride while intoxicated
Biking at Burning Man
2010 – Bought a new carbon fiber road bike for 50% off. Started riding 50 mile loops around Lake Washington. Sold Craigslist bike for $60. Got my first helmet
2012 – Sold road bike for what I paid for it, started traveling the world. Made a powered-by-bicycle smoothie
Smoothie by Bicycle
2014 – Rode a bike 900 km around Taiwan. Got pushed off the road by a bus. Rode a public bike to Chinese class each day for free
Biking in Taipei
…
2019 – I spend hours in the backyard, teaching my kid to ride a bike
What is your favorite biking memory?
“I love biking. It is the closest we can get to flying.” – Robin Williams
um…you missed one
2016 – got my kid a balance bike and he learned largely on his own
The balance bike is working out pretty well
So many good memories! I used to ride my bike all the time as a kid but haven’t biked in a long time since my bike was stolen during college. I have “buy a bike and ride again” on my early retirement to do list, but it’s been a task sitting there on the shelf, sorely neglected, right alongside “buy a kayak or canoe and get back on the water”. You never forget how to ride a bike, right? :)
My older kids do have bikes and they love riding those around the ‘hood and in the park. Almost time for our 2 year old to get his own bike!
Fall in NC seems a great time to get a bike on Craigslist and go for a ride with the kids!
My favorite biking memory when a dog chased me on my bike and I was pedaling on my bmx as fast as I could. I lost and the dog nipped me in the bum. Ever since then I have been afraid of dogs lol.
Awesome! Realy enjoyed reading this, thanks.
Bruce is right. A balance bike is the way to go. Our daughter taught herself to ride a bike in a couple of weeks by just pushing herself around our yard on a balance bike. You don’t even have to go out and buy a special “balance bike.” I just took my daughter’s old, cheap, WalMart bicycle that someone had given us, removed the training wheels and used a sawzall to cut the pedals off the bike. About two weeks later I watched as my daughter got onto her other bicycle that still had pedals and no training wheels, and she just started riding. It sounds too good to be true, but it really works.
It’s like learning to use a smart phone. My daughter is 5 years old, and she knows how to use our iPhones to look up contacts, send text messages, emails, make phone calls, surf the web, find princess videos on YouTube and watch them, and I have NEVER given her ANY instruction on how to use the phone, not even once. In some cases, all adults need to do is get out of the way and watch kids teach themselves…
My biking memory not so good, never own a bike or know how to ride a bike until I went to college. Most people have cars or scooters, but I dont have money or driver’s license so i got a cheap bike from a senior. It was hell of a 3 miles ride! The campus was too hilly and the traffic outside the campus were too heavy (no bike lanes!). I was the only person on a bike fighting the cars, scooter and buses trying to take me off the road. Come to think of it, it’s a miracle I didn’t have an accident in those two years. I broke down and got a used scooter during the final year of my undergraduate, and the scooter worked pretty well through graduate school and I sold it for exactly what I paid for it after I graduated! However, 20 years later, here I am, got a $50 bike off craiglist this year, in flat land IL, it really isnt too bad, I have used it for short errands around town for a few months! Now I am thinking about getting a better quality bike for longer rides!
Some of my best memories are teaching my young kids how to ride and how to ride better. My 7 yo just got a mountain bike and is thrilled she can switch gears and get up steep hills with loose rock now. So fun to be proud of your kiddos!