My parents cycled on and off over the years. My Dad more so. Usually it was just recreational, though my Dad did commute by bike for a couple of years when he was working day shift. My Mom's Dad cycled a lot in the 30s to the 50s, with the biggest challenge being the old N. Kamloops bridge which was one lane, but little traffic till later years and traffic lights were installed as a result.

I remember my dad telling us stories how his friends and neighbors thought he was nuts when they found out he spent a thousand dollars on a new Austro Daimler Vent Noir. I wonder what they'd think of my custom titanium with Di2.

My Mom tells a story how she saved her milk money to buy her first bike. At 85 she still rides to the store (1.5 miles round trip) and around her neighborhood (~2 miles) on her beach cruiser.

Im pretty sure not conforming to society in the 70's especially as a woman is pretty radical and badass.

My dad had a one speed tank as a kid. Must have been rough because he lived in a fairly hilly area.

He got a ten speed in the '70s a little after I did. He even became a bicycle commuter following my example.

Now he's got a folder that he bought to take with him when he and his wife were in their retired/roaming/RV days.

My mother had a 3 speed when I was a teen. She never rode it much. I don't know when or how she learned to ride or whether she had a bike as a kid.

It was my brother's JC Higgins that really inspired me. When I saw him ride out of sight, I realized that bicycles meant freedom, and couldn't wait to outgrow my tricycle.

Yeah, a woman riding her own motorcycle back then was pretty unusual. And larger motorcycles did not have the "Meet the nicest people on a Honda" aura.

Both my parents had bikes, CCM's. I remember the bikes really well, but I don't ever remember them riding. Dad made sure us kids always had bikes, usually from yard sales the he re-painted with super cool 90's splatter paint jobs.

I have a picture of my mom's uncles, Alfred and Ola:

One of my earliest memories is of sitting in the back seat of my mum's bicycle while she pedalled us around (she was car-free for a while). My dad also used to cycle to work a lot, except when hayfever forced him to use the family car. My dad's bike was stolen from our garage once- there were muddy footprints on the car roof where the thieves had climbed over it to get to the bike. The bike he bought as a replacement is now in my posession, since he can't ride any more due to a bad car accident.

In the 1970's being a non conformer was actually conforming just like all the other non confomers. Not kidding.
I'll see if I can find an old photo of my old girlfriend riding her bike with me.
I was there at the time, and knew female motorcycle riders, nothing badass about them. Most of the tough looking Harley riders were nice guys.

Cool photo! Do you know approx what year? Where was that?

How Enlightening

650 bsa!

i dont have any pictures available, but i spent many summers (early-mid 90s) as a kid at the finish of road racers (dad) and looking at the bikes in tri transition zones (mom). i can still list off most of the frames and components they went through part by part.

Neither of my parents rode bicycles. My mom tried as a teenager but didn't feel comfortable on it and my father thinks cyclists are childish fools who need to grow up. My mom is the more fun loving of the pair.

My parents were born and raised in Italy. They both used bicycles as their main mode of transportation over there, which was/is quite common in Europe.
After immigrating to the USA, my dad bought an Italian track bike and participated weekly in amateur races in Belle Isle in the Detroit area in the 1950's 1960's. He would also go back to Italy once every 3 years or so to visit family and he would referee in bike races in his home town. I give my father credit for my love of bicycling.

Here's an old photo of him on his bike:



Ciao

When I was a kid my dad rode a single speed to work, but it was only about 1km from home. When he moved he rode 8km to work on fairly hilly roads on a geared bike and I thought that was a pretty impressive achievement. When he retired and stopped riding for health reasons he gave me his hybrid and now I am doing short 3.5km rides to start with until I am fit enough to ride 8km to work (less hills than his ride I think).

1950 was written on the back. It would have been taken on the East coast of Canada for sure, probably some small Acadian village in New Brunswick. No one left to answer for sure though.

My dad doesn't ride a bike. He bought an exercise bike and I spend about an hour putting it together for him and he said he maybe uses it once a month, lol. My mom rode a lot with her ex-boyfriend who rode everyday but when they split and she got a motorcycle, she left the bicycle, haha. However, me and her have a deal to start going cycling on this 44.9 mile path in the woods that I am eyeing at. We both want to get into shape and I figure cycling would be the trick.

My dad was not a rider. My mother had a bike when we were younger so that she could ride with us. As we got older, she moved away from riding. She always though, made sure we kids had decent bikes, and for that I'll always be grateful.

To her mind, "decent" was simple and solid. Thus, my ride during my teen years was a Schwinn Typhoon singlespeed. (Or perhaps it was a Heavy Duti model. My memory is fuzzy on that point). It was an indestructible bike; that much is for sure.

Nice.

My Mom had a bike but only rode it occasionally.
My Dad was a bike commuter in the 70’s – 80’s until they moved his job across the bay. He had an orange three speed with rusty metal baskets on the back.
Later on he got a Trek hybrid that he rode for pleasure. Sometimes he would disappear on a Sunday afternoon ride while we all waited hungrily at home for him to grill dinner. As I got older we would ride together. He died about fourteen years ago. I wish I had spent more time riding with him. You always think there will be enough time…

That's very important. I know that as a kid, I had more bikes stolen and wrecked than all my other siblings combined. But my mother did keep me in bikes. And now, decades later, I don't think she wasted a penny. I've certainly ridden much farther than all my siblings combined. And I'm grateful.

Both my Mom and Dad rode bicycles. They both have the same blue "Tour du Quebec" 10 speeds. I remember falling with the bike on its stand while I was sitting in the kid carrier. My dad still cycle but not my mom because of knee issues. My great grand parents on my mother's side were also casual cyclists. I know my grand father still goes for rides at 87 or so yo. He's amazing! Unfortunately I doubt having any kids so there won't be any cyclists after me.

Both parents grew up in the Bronx during the Depression. My mom claimed that she knew how to ride, but I never ever saw her on a bike.
My dad didn't even know how to ride -- but he was the one who taught me how to do it.

my dad used to ride his bike to work so my mom could have the car. He did buy himself a car when I was 5, but we moved and left it behind. He had a J.C. Higgins 3 speed. He was a pretty good Sturmey Archer mechanic, I was always afraid to take them apart until recently.

We never had 2 cars until after they divorced when I was in my late teens. My mother started riding after that, she did have a car, but I guess she liked the exercise.