Your Very First Bike

[GLC1968]

My first bike (that belonged to me specifically) was a banana seat bike similar to the one that singletrackmind posted. I think it was either blue or purple. I honestly don't remember much about it except that the pedals were really close to the ground, so I had to be careful not to make a sharp right turn with the right pedal in the down position. I did once (luckily in an empty parking lot) and got one of those handlebars hard in the ribs. I had a nasty moon-shaped bruise on my torso for months and it was the first time I ever knocked the wind out of my lungs. It was scary! Now, 30+ years later, I still keep the inside pedal up when I make a turn.

The first bike I truly remember was a white 12-speed Huffy that I got when I was in 4th grade. It had foam covered drop handlebars and I rode it EVERYWHERE for years (literally, through junior high). I LOVED that bike. Funny thing is, I have no idea what happened to it!

[mimitabby]

my very first bicycle was a pink pin striped t hing with training wheels. After being terrorized by grown men pushing it down the street with me on it, i gave up on riding and that bike was probably left in a basement somewhere.

When I was 9, my father surprised me with a beautiful new bike.
It was a dark blue, and had only two wheels. He got on it, and rode it
in a circle; then he handed it to me; and I got on it and rode it.. like magic.
This is not my bike, but one like it.

[Meg McKilty]

I think I was 6 or 7, but it looked a lot like this with some bursts of stars and such. Pink Huffy with a white banana seat the neighbors dog chewed a bit after a while. I think I still have it somewhere...

[Crankin]

I was so little that when I was 6 or 7 my parents bought me a teeny teeny blue bike from Germany because they could not find one that fit me. I'm pretty sure it had cool stuff on it, but all of the boys in my neighborhood made fun of me because of the size. I only rode it with training wheels, though, because I just could not learn to ride. Finally, when i was 9, almost 10 my mom rented me a purple Schwinn when we were down the Cape and she patiently taught me to ride. I remember having absolutely no control and just veering across the road into parked cars (this was in a cottage colony, no real traffic). Anyway, i did learn and when we got home I got a turquoise Schwinn with the metal backseat on it , with a white stripe. It had coaster brakes and a white seat. I rode that for a year and in 6th grade I got a 3 speed black Raleigh with a Brooks saddle. I rode tons between 6th and 8th grade, and there were big hills where I lived. I think I got a slightly bigger Raleigh in high school, but after moving to Florida I rarely rode. Everyone drove.
I had a boyfriend who bought me a 5 speed race bike in the late seventies. I rode it to grad school classes at ASU, about a mile from my apartment and I distinctly remember riding wearing a sundress and no helmet... we traded this in for ten speeds in the eighties and I had that bike until about 1997. I rode it a bit in Tempe (going the wrong way against traffic, in the bike lane ) and a little when I moved back to MA, but never more than 5 or 6 miles.

[missymaya]

Mine was a winky dinky walmart bike that matched my sister's (twin girls must have everything matching according to some parents, including bikes) for our 5th birthday. We moved a month later to a sandy dirt road and they were used very rarely and then one day mine just disappeared. Years later, I canoed down the St John's river that runs behind my parents house and 4 or 5 miles down stream I get out and go for a hike and I see this pink bike, rusty, front wheel bent, chain broken and notice that it's MY BIKE!! Hey, how'd that get there! One person came to mind: my brother!! Mean boy took it across river and left the poor thing there . Come to think of it now, he should owe me a new bike

[wavedancer]

My first bike was a hand-me-down from my brother. My father cut the top tube and re-welded it to make a step-through "girls" bike. He painted it a beautiful aqua blue and taught me how to ride without training wheels. He would run along with me, holding the seat, and the first time he let go I crashed and "swallowed the handle bar!" I had a gash on the inside of my lip and I still have a scar on my chin, 50 years later! Now it has an attractive little hair that grows out of it

[coyote]

Mine was a little blue bike my parents bought 2nd hand. The older kids in the neighborhood taught me to ride. I out grew it quickly. We kept it around. I used it to teach the younger kids in my neighborhood to ride. It was metal and took a real beating. A good bike to learn on.

[mimitabby]

Coyote,
it was metal? I hope so. They don't make carbon fiber for kids.

[rapid cycler]

It was a Sears girl's bike, bright yellow, with a white flowered banana seat and a white flowered basket. Oh, and rainbow-colored tassles on the handlebar grips. These details were explicitly requested by my 5-year-old self. By the time I was 9 or 10, and a confirmed tomboy, the basket had been ditched and both the handlebars and seat had been swapped out for BMX-style equipment. It was a very strange looking bike, especially given that it still had a girl's step-through frame! At a certain point, maybe out of his own embarrassment, my brother handed down to me his red Schwinn Stingray.

[Torrilin]

My first bike was a pink Huffy with a weird seat. Not quite a banana, not quite a normal saddle. Handlebars were lower than the 70s bikes I've seen here, more in the style of a modern comfort or cruiser bike. Step through frame, one speed, coaster brakes. Knobby tires.

I learned to ride it in a cul-de-sac built into the side of the hill. It was just off a residential street with decent grade, maybe as high as 6%. The cul-de-sac itself was set at an angle, so you got lots of nice drills on turning and how to gain speed off a gentle grade. I distinctly remember my dad teaching me the turn signals and telling me I was to use them, even if I couldn't see any cars. I remember spending a solid year with training wheels, and getting to the point where I didn't really need them. Had dad take 'em off and promptly had a ton of spills. Decided I needed to learn to fall, so I practiced. Lots.

When I was in my teens I got another garage sale Huffy bike in more my size. It was probably officially a mountain bike since it had knobby tires (which I wanted since I was not a great enough fool to try riding thin tires on PA roads). It didn't really fit properly, but I could at least ride to the library, the swimming pool and my first real job on it. I don't recall how many speeds it had, and I didn't really know how to use them (friction shifters cause index hadn't been invented when the bike was built). It did have real brakes and I *did* learn how to use those... going down the hill into town is an 18-19% grade. No trouble at all hitting 35 mph off that. The trick was to keep your speed in check for the curves and potholes.

[Ninabike]

I was 5 and my parents got me a red "kid-sized" bike. I remember secretly wanting a "big" bike, not that I could have ridden it. When I finally did get a "big" bike - Schwin 3-speed - I was 8 and I used to ride around with my cat in the basket.

[nancielle]

Got mine when I was about 5. Don't know the manufacturer but it was blue and white and, best of all, I didn't have to share it with my younger sister It did get handed down to the younger siblings eventually and I moved up to a green three-speed something or other until I was in high school when I got a yellow 10 speed.

[Skierchickie]

My first few were all hand-me-downs from my sister - man, did I want a brand new bike of my own! I started with "Mumpy", the little tricycle (boy, did we laugh when Dad got on it and pedaled around the yard!), then something red with training wheels. Anybody ever learn to ride on a gravel driveway? I remember my grandpa holding me up on the hill by the barn, and running down next to me. Scarey. Then a green banana-seat bike, an aqua-blue 3-speed, and finally, MY VERY OWN green Ross Gran Tour 10-speed. That was jr high or high school, and my first real "go for a ride by myself" bike. When I was in high school, in the summer I'd go for a 15-20 mile ride after swim practice. In college one of my male friends was a biker, and he kinda gave me a hard time about the Ross (I believe he called it a tank. He is also the one who said he wouldn't ride with me unless I wore a helmet - a true friend!). So in 1987 I saved up my overtime money from my summer job, and got an aqua Trek 560. It's been all Trek ever since! A 1989 970 mtb, a 1992 2300, a 2001 8000 mtb, and now I ride a 2003 5200 , and a 2006 Fuel Ex 9. Biking is so wonderful - you can start as a little kid, and the whole thing just evolves over time. How many things do you do today that you did when you were 5? Just for fun? And how many people who loved their bikes when they were kids just don't realize they could still love them today?

[divingbiker]

My first bike was a second or third or fourth hand, heavy, fat-tired bike that had been repainted an awful turquoise color. It was much too big for me, and I am ashamed to admit that I pitched a fit when I got it and never rode it. I'm sure my parents thought me a terribly ungrateful child, since it was all they could afford and they did their best, but that wasn't good enough for me. I have a very clear mental picture of that bike leaning against the back wall of the garage, never being ridden by anyone.

I rode my sister's Schwinn instead, which was also too big for me, but it wasn't as heavy and I could manage it--had to stand up to ride it and the seat was always stabbing me in the back, as someone else mentioned.

I got a newspaper route when I was about 11 or 12, and saved my money to buy a candy apple red girls stingray, which I loved. I guess my fascination with red bikes has been with me for almost 40 years.

[RolliePollie]

Before I had a two-wheeler, I had a Big Wheel. Does anyone else remember those? I LOVED that thing! Me and the neighborhood kids would race around like maniacs on our Big Wheels, crashing into each other like bumper cars as I recall. We had a cement driveway which was really good for drawing on with chalk, so we used to draw roads, freeways, gas stations and all sorts of stuff out there for our Big Wheels.

I love this thread! It's so fun to think back on all those great childhood memories! I just wish my parents had taken some pictures of me and my bicycles. I can remember them vividly, but alas, no pictures!