Your story is much cooler than mine.
When I turned 12 I got a used ($15) Schwinn middleweight with a 2-speed Bendix shifter that looked like a handbrake lever. Six months later I moved up to a bottom-end Bianchi Corsa 10-speed.
What do I ride today? A fat-tired Schwinn (mountain) bike and a Bianchi road bike. The more things change ... .
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"Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing." --Theodore Roosevelt
Capo: 1959 Modell Campagnolo, S/N 40324; 1960 Sieger (2), S/N 42624, 42597
Carlton: 1962 Franco Suisse, S/N K7911
Peugeot: 1970 UO-8, S/N 0010468
Bianchi: 1982 Campione d'Italia, S/N 1.M9914
Schwinn: 1988 Project KOM-10, S/N F804069