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TCS - Your experience and mine are the same except mine was two years earlier and my Dad was taking the training wheels off one of my older brother's bike to give to the next one older than me but my brother did not want to ride it (he was holding out for a new bike - not a hand-me-down) so I got on it. My feet could not reach the bottom stroke on the pedal so I took my first few strokes pushing the pedal through the stroke with the top side of my high foot until I found my balance and could pedal standing up. My brother got his new bike - a heavy tank of a bike. It was almost a year before I could sit and pedal this bike. My Dad asked if I wanted a new bike and I said no - I saw what he bought my brother and there was no way I wanted a big heavy clunker, I was a bike snob back then too. I never rode a bike with training wheels. I think that was 1960. I rode that same little bike for 10 years. Towards the end of its life it had a bannana seat and butterfly handlebars all of which I modified myself and bought the parts from lawn mowing money. I eventually peeled the steel out around the head set - you could say I used it as an early mountain bike. A neighbor gave me his son's 10 spd when I was 14 and then I bought a new Raliegh Grand Prix at age 17 with money from flipping burgers. I rode that for 12 years, then a Miyata in the mid 80s for 11 years (which I ended up hating), my Simoncini (which I adore) and a Gary Fisher both of which I ride now were bought in the mid 90's and I just added a new Specialized (Jurys still out) to the mix. This addicition has been going strong.
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