mmmdonuts

I was 5 or 6 and asked my dad to adjust the training wheels on my bike so it would wobble like the other kid's. He tried and ended up breaking them. So my dad gives me the bike without training wheels and says "here you go son".

And there I went...

pdedes

I had just turned 5 and dad pushed me a couple of times down the sidewalk on my blue Swinger. Looking back, it came quite easily.

dwellman

Never used training wheels. Just pushed around with my feet until one day (some garage sale "16 inch" deal) until I coasted without falling over. I guess I was around 5.

Spookeay Bird

Surprised no one has spoken of the feeling of freedom. For me that was one of the best things. Always have chased that high. Riding a bike, Drivers License, Pilots license, Captains License. That feeling you are now in total control of your direction and desteney!

ussprinceton

I don't remember all the specific details, but I know I started out with some training wheels

radshark

I was five .. it had training wheels. My mom gave me a push and I took off down a dirt path near our house. I couldn't remember how to brake so I steered into a large blue spruce.

My first ride and wipe out all in one shot

radshark

Just need a motorcycle license now

BTW - nice boat!

Spookeay Bird

In Alabama it comes with your DL. Sorry Should have added that one for effect.

RobertL

Each new step is more freedom and it's great. Many years ago my brother and I owned an old Mooney M20C Mark 21 aircraft and the feeling of freedom was especially strong with the ability to be a couple states away in a few hours, I love that feeling.

Which Mooney do you own?

in0va3

I remember that every time I was on my bike, I would imagine myself riding a flyable bicycle. That feeling always made me want to pedal faster so I would fly up like an airplane.

pallen

I have no idea what the bike was. It was a green department store kids bike with the fake gas tank up front. I think all three of us kids started on the same bike since we were all 4 years apart. Getting the training wheels off was a pretty big deal. Then you could ride where you wanted and you weren't limited to smooth sidewalks and other "safe" areas. The next big step was when my parents let me actually go down the road and out of sight with my brother. There was no turning back after that...

haaseg

I don't remember the date, but I was 5 or 6 and it was very early 80s and it was a black 20" huffy with gold handlebars and black bar pads. I remember feeling awesome until I fell and skinned my chin on the sidewalk.

My son probably won't remember, but this summer at 3 1/2 he saw some "big kids" trying to ride down the big grassy hill without training wheels and falling all over the place. He said "I wanna try that, Dad" so the training wheels came off and he was easily best of show in the course of 15m. I still need to give him a push to get him started, but he can easily ride a few hundred yards and can stop without falling down. I think the big difference is that the other kids had these cheap, rickety too big for them bikes and my son's 12" Trek is build like a brick s(-)!t house. His only issue is that the crank is too short and the gearing is way off. He has to pedal like mad to keep his momentum up enough to stay upright. I'm on the fence getting him another bike at the moment. He's still pretty short, but there's no way he's going to improve his riding experience until he can get more leverage on the pedals. He simply can't do take offs on his own. He knows how to do it (can do it going downhill on his own).

yearz

My 1st peddle ride was a green johndeer tractor i thnk/// 1980s

rat fink

Across the street from where I lived at the time, was 'the lot' where all the boys would test their daring by ripping a fast run and taking the big jumps. I dropped in on the 'expert' hill that ran straight into the whoop-de-doos ...and faceplanted. After that, my friends tried to get me to ride, but it wasn't happening.....until one day, when I decided I was tired of watching them grab sweet air and decided that doing a jump was the right way to learn to balance. I used one of those car ramp things and set it out in the yard, started about 20 feet back, and rode at it as fast as I could. Just as I was getting to the lip of the jump, I realized that I was indeed balancing! I was so excited that I forgot I was going off a jump and ate it pretty hard. But that didn't stop me, I grabbed my bike and rode over to my best friend's house to tell him. He wasn't impressed, but he did grab his bike and we headed over to the lot, where I then learned how to jump, slide, and bail.


P.S. Never had training wheels. They weren't cool.

pallen

lol, I had one of those and could never make it go because it weighed a ton and only was allowed to ride it in the grass.