Now, don't get me wrong, I wasn't a hoodlum or anything, it's just that when I was a kid, bikes were forbidden fruit. My parents were convinced (well, mostly my father) that bicycles were "too dangerous" so I wasn't allowed to have one.
It totally sucked. All of the other kids were out riding all over the neighborhood, and I was stuck, on the sidewalk on my over-sized tricycle feeling completely and totally humiliated.
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| This looks very much like the trike I was stuck with |
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| This is not the bike, but it's a pretty close replica |
And... well... I mean, it was just sitting there gathering cobwebs, and I really, really, REALLY wanted a bike.
Sooo... one afternoon when nobody was around, I grabbed a wrench, removed the training wheels, and my entree into the dark underground of bike-thievery began. There were some advantages to being a latchkey kid who had many hours without parental supervision - I don't think anyone figured out I had commandeered it for about a year.
I'm sure I must have fallen a few times teaching myself how to ride, but I have no memory of it. All I remember is that I FINALLY had a bike! And even though it was a horrible, heavy, ugly, uncomfortable dork-mobile, it was certainly a step up on the dorkdom ladder from the over sized tricycle, plus it was FREEDOM and I loved my ill-gotten booty with all my heart!
After it became clear that I wasn't going to give up the bicycle, my mother finally gave in and got me a "real" bike. It was a super cool lime green girly bike complete with a banana seat and handle bar tassels.
I guess this one doesn't really count as theft, since it was purchased for me, but it definitely counts as blackmail because Mom was terrified that I'd tell dad I'd been riding the bike for a year now. So she relented as long as I promised not to say a word to my father - oh the joys of growing up in crazy land!
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| My banana bike looked much like this, only it was lime green |
Then a few years later I got a paper route and found myself in need of a workhorse bicycle. My mother had purchased herself an old Schwinn at a rummage sale, but she'd never actually ridden the thing (she and my brother were a lot alike in that sense.)
Sooo... I needed a paper route bike, and this bike had baskets and everything, and it wasn't being used...
Yup, you guessed right, I stole it, fixed it up, and it became my faithful companion every morning. It still sorta blows my mind, but I used to get up at 4am every day, come rain or shine and deliver the papers. I could ride down the center of the street and hit porches on either side!
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| Imagine it with front & rear baskets heavily laden with newspapers |
By this point I was pretty deeply into bike-a-holic-ism, but my parents still hadn't given up on getting my brother interested, so they teamed up and bought him a shiny new yellow Schwinn. This was a pretty big deal, not only because it was a fancy bike, but because my divorced parents seldom spoke, and the fact that they did this together for my brother (and not for me) made me insanely jealous!
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| It looked pretty much like this, only yellow |
OK... you know what's coming don't you?
The thing is... he just never rode the thing, and even though I had saved up my paper route money for a cheap department store 10 speed, this was a much nicer bike... and when he left for college without it...
Anyhow, there you have it... confessions of a childhood bike thief. The thing is.. a kid's gotta do what a kid's gotta do! And although it was an inauspicious beginning, I'm not sure I would have ever fallen in love with bikes like I did if I hadn't taken matters into my own hands.
You'll be comforted to know that I have reformed, and all of my adult bicycles have been duly paid for with cold hard cash!
So tell me... did you have a bike as a kid? I'd love to hear your childhood bike stories!
Interesting background on your love of bike riding.
ReplyDeleteI learned to ride when I was quite young. There was a little bike around. Not sure where it came from, but I was the third of four kids so I'm not surprised that we had it. One day I decided to learn to ride. I think I was about four. I spent several days in the neighbor's driveway falling over until I caught on. Later all four of us shared a larger bike and we weren't allowed to ride it on the street because my mother thought it was too dangerous. So most of the riding was when our bike was driven to a country dirt road where my mother felt safe about our riding. Since then, I've always been cautious about riding and was nervous when my kids were riding on the road.
Wow... a dirt road. In my opinion riding on dirt is much, much harder than riding on pavement. I suppose I can see the "safer" logic in terms of there being fewer cars to contend with, but the bike is infinitely more difficult to control on a surface like that than on pavement. There are a few trails in our regular rotation that have dirt/gravel sections and I really hate them - every corner scares me because I'm sure my back tire is gonna skid out on me and dump me on the ground! KUDOS for learning under those conditions!
DeleteMy mother's main concern was cars. It wasn't until I was an adult that I figured out that it is much nicer to ride on pavement than a dirt road.
DeleteWell, cars are a valid concern, but somehow I don't remember encountering many on our neighborhood streets as a kid. Perhaps I was just oblivious! :-)
DeleteI have never ridden a bike. The rest of the family loves riding and they're trying to convince me to learn how. Maybe this summer?
ReplyDeleteYou should absolutely give it a go! I'm sure it seems daunting if you've never done it, but it's really not as hard as it looks. These days they do actually make adult tricycles that aren't too bad in the dork department too, so that might be a less intimidating way to start out - though I understand they're a bit of a challenge on hills and corners.
DeleteGood for you for getting yourself on a bike.
ReplyDeleteDid your brother end up riding bikes.
My husband hates bike riding and he kept telling me I didn't need a new bike.
Then I wised up and realized why he was saying that
Marieann
Alas, my poor brother never developed a love of bikes or a love of any physical activity for that matter. But you know, I think we just had very different ways of coping with the craziness of our family situation. His was to shut himself in and delve into intellectual pursuits - mine was to get the heck outa there (which, as a kid, required a bike!)
DeleteIt's such a shame that your husband hates bike riding - maybe you could find a friend to ride with.
My sisters and I rode our bikes everywhere as kids (and we never had to resort to 'borrowing' each other's; my parents got us each our own).
ReplyDeleteI also had a paper route, although thankfully mine was an afternoon route which I could deliver once I got home from school. But since both my sisters had morning routes, I had to get up with them more than a few times in the wee hours of the morning to help out.
When I first got the paper route the Denver Post was an evening paper. But within a month or so of taking on the job they switched to a morning delivery. Honestly, I though tit was some sort of a cruel bait & switch joke that the universe was playing on me, and had the whole "quitters never win, winners never quit" thing not been drilled into me I would have just walked away. Probably would have been better for my mental health, though I suppose I did learn some great bike handling skills that came in handy later! :-)
DeleteThat is too funny that your father thought bicycles could be too dangerous. Bikes were how we got around, as kids. I was sent to the store, rode to school, to friends, to take something to a neighbor for my mom. It was just transportation.
ReplyDeleteI was a bit like live and learn (not quite as young). Someone in the neighborhood had a bike when I was 5. I asked to try it out. They said "sure" and that was the beginning. Later that summer my parents picked up a rather large boys' bike for me, which led to many scrapes, cuts, bruises, and imbedded asphalt in my skin.
But now, maybe I understand your love of biking, better. The forbidden fruit!
Yup... there's nothing like telling a kid they can't have something to make them really, REALLY want it! :-)
DeleteI sorta can't imagine what my childhood would have looked like had I not managed to get myself a bike, because, like you say, it was transportation! I would have felt really isolated and alone, and I would have missed out on so very much.
Too funny! I wish I loved bikes that much now...
ReplyDeleteMine's had a flat for months and I haven't ridden at all.
If you were here I'd fix that flat for you in no time! Of course, I saw on the news that summer temps have already struck down there in the desert - riding when it's over 95 sounds a bit like torture to me! :-)
DeleteI'm more like your brother in the story. My parents said we couldn't ride a bike until we were some age (8 I think). My brother learned from a friend at a much younger age (5 I think).
ReplyDeleteI had a really hard time learning to ride a bike even though I had my very own that I was allowed to use in the open. Every time I would push on one pedal, the bike would fall over to that side. Mom told me that nevertheless it is quite possible to ride a bike once you get up to speed. But I was too afraid to just ride it downhill or something.
Finally, one day during a move, it finally clicked and I could ride my bike. (I think I was 10 years old.) (I'm not sure why I was riding my bike while my parents were hauling boxes down into the truck; I'll have to guess that there were only super big things to move during that period and we were told to keep out of the way.)
In high school, my best friend and I would ride our bikes sometimes. There was a dirt trail along the creek which had challenging parts to it. I remember the part with multiple small hills close together such that you had to time it so that your pedals were even or the bottom one would hit the dirt. Also, if you didn't ride exactly in the middle, you might slide down one of these hills. We learned to just get off our bikes when this happened. Then we'd have to go down the hill and pull the bike back up. Before we learned that, our friend would have to get the bike from on top of us so we could get up.
I now use a bike than an old boyfriend of mine found on the side of the road and fixed up for me. I no longer have the habit of just jumping off the bike when I'm in trouble, but I still admire that habit. I also used to be able to ride with no hands, but now I'm too chicken. I tell myself I should start using my bike more, but haven't yet done so.
For some reason I had no fear as a child... that changed as I grew up and learned that I was indeed mortal, but the things I did as a kid sorta blow my mind. I did my fair share of crazy dirt path riding... the one I remember was the one that went down one side of a steep gully and up the other - you had to get up a crazy speed to make it back up the other side.
DeleteAnyhow, I'm glad you did finally learn to ride, and hopefully now that you've got more time on your hands you can learn to enjoy it again!
Oh, yeah, we had one of those, too. Again, if you don't make it up the other side, it's good to just get off the bike and walk it. But I did go crazy fast to get enough speed to get up the other side. (I'd be too chicken now!)
DeleteI'm kinda sad for you that your dad thought bikes were dangerous. You've made up for your lack of bikes in your childhood!
ReplyDeleteI learned to ride a bike when I was 5. We had old-style bikes with that flat metal piece over the rear tire. Once, my brother and I rode on it--he was pedaling and I sat on that metal part--my heel got caught in the spokes of the tire. My brother was afraid he'd get in trouble for hurting me and doctored me up. :)
Yikes! Getting caught in the spokes can be really bad - good thing it was your heel and not a finger or toe! And my dad thought EVERYTHING was dangerous - thankfully he mellowed a bit as the years passed.
DeleteI am so happy to have discovered your blog--I just read ALL of the rat-race posts. You're a great writer, and your story relates to so many things I've been experiencing in my life in the last couple of years. I find myself wondering why I didn't bump into you sooner, but better now than never. You'll be publishing books soon, yes? : )
ReplyDeleteHa! Book? Me? Well, actually I have toyed with the idea, but I'm not sure I'd have the sticktoitivness to actually complete something that meaningful... plus it really annoys me when bloggers get all full of themselves and decide to make people pay for their thoughts. I dunno... if I could come up with something that I felt was worthy enough to charge actual money for...
DeleteAnyhow, glad this challenge connected us! Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts! :-)
B is for Blue Beginner's Bike: Where I grew up you got a bike for Christmas or your birthday when you turned 6 years old. It was almost like it was written in stone. And everyone started out with training wheels for the first few weeks then graduated to the regular 2 wheels. So I got mine for Christmas. Then I took a bad and scary tumble in the street a few days after I shed my training wheels, and it took me several weeks (2 or 3 months) to get my confidence back enough to ride on the street again. But after that I was just as free-wheeling as the rest of the kids.
ReplyDeleteMy little 8-year-old self is soooo jealous of your six-year-old self! I wonder if I fell when teaching myself to ride... one would assume I did - I just find it so funny that I can't remember that part at all!
DeleteI <3 this soooo much
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteFun post. I would have happily let you "steal" my bike. I was always falling into bushes and running into things. I tell you it was not a pretty sight.
ReplyDeleteHa! I'm sure I fell a lot too... the difference is just that I didn't care! :-)
DeleteI had a bike like the one your mother finally bought you, banana seat and all but mine was red. I got it when I was five but by the time my brother was old enough for a bike he wasn't going to get one so I gave him mine. (the bar was reversible to make it a boys bike). Riding a bike was hard for me, but I did enjoy it while I had it. My brother ended up like you, he rides long distances just for fun and has taken week long trips on the bike with groups through the Appalachian..
ReplyDeleteI think we end up loving what we were denied as children. For me (and with Easter around the corner this is pertinent) I was not allowed to have chocolate. I watched my siblings get overfilled baskets with all kinds of chocolate and I was given one solitary piece of white chocolate, which is not the same thing! So I craved chocolate once I tasted it and would sneak to have it for years.
That was so kind of you to give your bike to your brother. You must have had a much less... um... competitive relationship with your brother than I had with mine!
DeleteAnd I'm so sorry about the chocolate, though little kid me would have happily given little kid you all of my chocolate because I hated the stuff! Didn't develop a taste for it until much later in life. But I totally think you're right... forbidden fruit is the sweetest. Does this mean we should deprive all children of fresh vegetables in the hopes it will make them crave them? :-)
Such a fun post! Sounds like all your bike thievery was perfectly justified! Now I'm wondering if the secret to getting G to love bikes is withholding them (things are going so well with his new bike :( ).
ReplyDeleteThat was supposed to be "are NOT going to well . . . "
DeleteOh no! Well... there is something to be said for reverse psychology, but it didn't work so well in my brother's case!
DeleteI did have a bike as a kid - almost identical to the one with the banana seat, minus the streamers. It even had a little white basket on the front. I really didn't ride a lot until I was an adult and bought a "beach cruiser" which looked like your paper delivery bike but without the front rack. I would take my kids riding on the rails-to-trails paths near the beach. I loved doing that until my bike was stolen - but buy a stranger, not a family member. :)
ReplyDeleteI think we all must have had that bike, or one very similar when we were kids! And that totally sucks about having your bike stolen... I'd never steal a bike from someone I didn't know! :-)
Deletereading back posts but wanted to comment on the bike story. I was one of 7 children, raised in rural South Carolina. My oldest brother had a bicycle all his own, but when he was 16,9about 1958/1959) and riding down a very steep hill at a rapid speed the handlebars came loose from the bike, and he fell onto the asphalt road breaking his four front teeth and scraping his body badly. A neighbor found him (since he was over a mile from home), brought him home & (GET THIS!) my mother gave the neighbor the insurance paperwork so the neighbor would take my bloodied brother to the hospital. My father was at work with our one car, my mother was home with all the rest of us children so couldn't leave. My brother was hospitalized for about a week with all his injuries.
ReplyDeleteso after my brother's horrible accident, my mother wouldn't let any of the rest of us have a bicycle. Until several years later when my aunt gave us her daughter's old bicycle. By that time I was almost a teenager so didn't ride the bike much, but my younger brothers loved it and rode it. One of younger brother's had a horrible bike accident on the paved road, so again my mother restricted usage. As adults, my two younger brothers both ride bicycles. My 6-year-old grandson lives with us and just learned to ride his 2-wheeler so now in my 60's my husband and I are searching for bicycles so we can ride the local rails-to-trails bikeways. I was so scared last weekend as I tested out a bicycle. What kind of bike do you have that you ride around your community?
ReplyDeleteHi Jan - Holy Moly! Your family has quite a history with bike accidents! I don't blame you for being a bit apprehensive.
DeleteI actually own 3 bikes - a mountain bike, a road bike and a hybrid. If you're curious, you can read about them here:
http://ecocatlady.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-bike-for-all-seasons.html
But especially since you're just learning, I'd probably suggest a comfort bike or a cruiser bike. I'm not entirely sure what the distinction is between the two, but basically these are bikes that are designed to be easy to ride. They usually have a "step-in" frame which means you don't have to raise your leg much to get on, plus the bottom bracket (the part where the pedals are) is lower - this means that when you stop your feet can reach the ground while you're still be on the seat (with most bikes you have to dismount to reach the ground). They're also set up so that you're in a very upright riding position as opposed to having to bend over to reach the handlebars.
My step-mom recently bought a comfort bike made by Trek and she loves it. I'm not sure of the exact model, but it's similar to this bike:
http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/city/recreation/pure/pure_lowstep/#
They even make bikes with batteries these days to help you when the pedaling gets tough! And I think my step-mom's has a shock-absorber in the seat post to make the bumps easier on the bum!
The specifics of what kind to get will probably depend on a bunch of things like how many hills you have to contend with etc, but if you go to a good bike store they should be able to help you find a bike that will work for you.
Anyhow, good luck with it, and don't be afraid to test ride a bunch of different bikes - every body is different so you want to be sure to get a bike you're gonna feel comfortable on.