Tuesday, May 29, 2007

bike riding

OK Janell you had sidewalks to ride your bike on but the older four of us grew up like Jack and Emily.

Here's how I learned to ride my Blue birthday bike. I think it was my 8th birthday when I got a bike. Uncle Franty and some of the race horses were staying at our place--the Roy Way place--(Janell and Shirley never live there).

There was a gentle slope from the house to the barn. I started at the house and rode down to the barn. Then I pushed the bike back up and did it again. All of these trips were not without many, many falls. Finally I was good enough to count the trips I made without falling. As he went about his chores, Franty would encourage me after a fall and ask "How many?" when I started counting the trips without accidents.

I don't remember anyone holding on to my bike as I learned to balance. It was so much trial and error. Probably it was nothing harder than packed dirt. Riding on a gravel road was especially difficult when they added new gravel. In fact I think it was impossible.

8 comments:

LaDawn said...

One word: Ouch!

Janell said...

You had your own bike? I inherited Bob's. It had one speed: GO. The brakes didn't work. Concrete does evil things to knees & elbows and a boy's bike proves that girls' groin areas are just as sensitive as boys'.

Myrnagj said...

I'm the oldest...Of course I had my own bike. You should probably be happy you didn't inherit my Firestone Studebaker. Yes, I named my bike for it's manufacturer and a car.

Shirley said...

You named your bike?

Sue said...

When Mick, Bob & I were riding bikes to school, Mick got the blue girls bike and I had the bigger boys bike and Bob would ride the cross bar in front of me. We did crash a few times on the gravel, but no serious injuries.
Sue

cdroses said...

I'm not letting the girls read this. The next thing I know, one of them will be riding on the cross bar of the mountain bike.

As for learning how to ride, Mom chased me around the Oakland Memorial Hospital parking lot, after hours. Oh yeah, she held the bike up; it wasn't like I was trying to escape. Jaydee learned at day care, using training wheels. Kendra learned with training wheels.

Brooke said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

People should read this.