Ride like the wind
My first bike was an old orange and white Schwinn with a banana seat, and my brother’s first bike was a black and yellow Huffy. We learned to ride in our backyard, and then practiced at the top of our driveway and on our back patios before hitting the hilly streets of our neighborhood.
Our driveway was long and steep, and so was the rest of our street. Coasting down the driveway helped us build up enough speed to pedal up the street, and likewise, coasting down the street on our way home gave us enough momentum to climb back up our driveway. There were no sidewalks, we wore no helmets, and cars built up speed coasting down the street too.
My brother spent more time on his bike than I did, so he ended up with more injuries. Once, he attempted to ride down (and back up) a street that looked like a capital U. He crashed at the bottom. Another time, he flipped over his handlebars and landed on his front teeth. Fortunately, his braces kept his teeth from being knocked out altogether.
I graduated to a blue ten-speed and occasionally rode it to the nearest shopping center. Once, while jumping a curb, I timed it wrong and wiped out. Fortunately, I didn’t hurt anything but my pride.
Despite my shaky history of riding, bicycles were one of our first purchases when we moved to Colorado – including a brand new one with training wheels for a three year-old Tacy, as well as a garage sale find that would fit her when she turned five.
Our driveway now is short and slightly sloped, and our neighborhood now has only a few gentle hills. Sidewalks abound, and cars usually drive the speed limit or below. Tacy has grown into her garage sale bike, and CJ now rides the smaller bike with training wheels. And of course both girls wear helmets.
But as different as our childhood bike riding experiences may be, watching them still reminds me of my own bike rides with my brother. Here’s hoping that my kids’ braces help keep their teeth in their heads, and that all they ever hurt is their pride.
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It’s a Blast From the Past, courtesy of Highlights Magazine and High Five Magazine (for the pre-school set) and PBN. You DO remember Highlights Magazine, don’t you? They’re celebrating 60 years (wow!), and this week’s PBN Blog Blast is all about those childhood memories that we look forward to sharing with our own kids. Do a little reminiscing yourself, and you could win a one-year subscription to Highlights or High Five!
March 7th, 2008 at 6:25 am
Mine was a blue and white Fantasy Island themed bike with a banana seat.
There were 11 kids on our block and we made up games in the street (relatively non-hilly).
My favorite was double-chicken. This involved pumping another child on your handlebars while simultaneously peddling at top speed toward another bike with another child on their handlebars.
No, we were not on drugs.
We were on Fun Dip Powder, if you must know.
And there were MANY scrapes b/c we had too much pride to EVAH back down.
OMSH’s last blog post..Spammers Seriously Suck
March 7th, 2008 at 7:12 am
This is fun reading what other people chose to write about from their childhoods.
Bikes are an important part of being a kid in my opinion.
Heather’s last blog post..Help? Please?
March 7th, 2008 at 8:05 am
Mmmm…Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip. Loved that stuff! Even better than Pixy Stix.
March 7th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I used to ride my bicycle to my grandmother’s house. I wonder if I’d be allowed to do that today.
magpie’s last blog post..Open, please
March 7th, 2008 at 11:12 am
I bought a new one yesterday and can’t freaking wait to ride it. I remember getting my first 10 speed, a Free Spirit from Sears and riding it outside on Christmas Day when it was SERIOUSLY cold!
MamaMaven’s last blog post..Coffee+Tide=Barf Smell?
March 7th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I can’t wait to get us back on our bikes either. If the snow EVER melts, I have high hopes of riding to school.
mayberry’s last blog post..One two three four … High Five!
March 7th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
What a great thing to share with the kids!
And Fun Dip and Pixy Stix?? YUMMY!
Here’s my confession: I never learned to ride a bike. But I have plenty of other things to pass on to my kids. My hubby will get to teach them to ride bikes.
caramama’s last blog post..Passing the Non-Olympic Torch
March 7th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
When I was ten, I woke up Christmas morning to bikes beside the Christmas tree for my brother and me. It was awesome.
Until we had a race in the local supermarket parking lot and my brother got his bike caught up in some wire, flipped ass over tea kettle and knocked out his three front teeth. While I promptly drove over his face with my bike while trying to stop.
It was lovely.
The kids and I ride bikes every summer together. I love it.
Redneck Mommy’s last blog post..Nightmare on Redneck Road
March 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Nate and I have an ongoing fight about bike helmets where he insists kids are too coddled today and I insist that I’m happy to coddle my children’s heads when they ride their bikes in the street. I’m going to send him this post so he can see how totally cute a kid can look in a bike helmet.
Mom101’s last blog post..It’s Got a Good Beat and You Can Dance To It
March 10th, 2008 at 12:21 am
Thanks for sharing that. I have many, many wonderful memories of riding my pink banana seat Schwinn, doing “stunts” and wearing no helmet. Those were the days.
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