My first bike was a pile of rust that had been sitting in a neighbor's backyard for several years, left by whomever the previous renter of their house was. They gave it to us when I was 4 and I learned to ride it by 4 1/2.

I remember helping sand the rust off of much of the bike except for the handlebars which I was happy my parents replaced with the cool tall ones that went with the banana seat we got for it. The original seat was metal with a paper-thin amount of cotton covered with vinyl. The top tube was in two pieces that could be unscrewed and attached as a "girls" step-through.

I have no idea of the brand. But I remember all the work that went into getting it in working order and can still picture the fenders hanging from wires in the basement where my dad was spray painting them blue.