FIRST (MIDDLE) AND LAST BIKES

First (Middle) and Last Bikes - from a toddler to now and still loving a bike!

FIRST AND LAST BIKES

What's not to love about a bicycle? Or in the beginning for most of us it was probably a tricycle. I went trawling through the old photo albums and managed to find a few pics that reflect the joy (and trepidation) that comes with owning and riding a bike in the backyard - complete with picket fences of course!

FIRST

Here's me on my first tricycle - a little (second hand of course) pink trike with wooden handlebars. I'm probably about 3 years old here and look how proud I am to be pedalling under my own steam. Kids' trikes have come a long way since the 1960's but it still did the job back then and I'm obviously enjoying it.

First (Middle) and Last Bikes - from a toddler to now and still loving a bike!

 MIDDLE

And here I am at 5 learning to ride my first bicycle - it even has trainer wheels and you can see how concerned I am at trying to get it right. You can also see the DREADFUL haircut that my mother thought was cute - she tells me it was a "pixie cut" - all I can see is a hack job and I truly wonder what my mum was thinking at the time!

I fell off this bike once when I was zipping around a corner near a new house and there was loose sand on the road. I managed to bash my hand on the ground and had to get patched up by a lovely neighbourhood mum who saw me hit the ashphalt and came to my rescue.

First (Middle) and Last Bikes - from a toddler to now and still loving a bike!

LAST

And here I am on my new bike - this was taken a couple of years ago when I quit my job and started thinking about what I'd like to do - one of the things on my list was to get a bike - and the style that's popular now really suited me - complete with cat carrying basket on the front! I have to admit that it hasn't had as much use as I'd planned, but I still love it and I'm glad I re-discovered the joy of bike ownership.

First (Middle) and Last Bikes - from a toddler to now and still loving a bike!

ADDENDUM

The other type of "Last" bike that I've been enjoying is this one. My husband decided he wanted to get his motorbike licence and then bought a big 1000cc Honda motorbike. I don't have any desire to learn how to ride it, but I do enjoy being a pillion passenger occasionally - hanging on for grim death as we zoom down the highway and stop somewhere along the way for morning tea.

We fell off this bike once too - when a 4 wheel drive owner didn't see us and turned in our path - my life flashed before my eyes and I realized I wasn't quite ready to meet my Maker - I wrote about it HERE if you want the gorey pictures. Fortunately it wasn't the end of our story, or the end of our biking - but we were a little bit wiser and more cautious from that moment onwards!

First (Middle) and Last Bikes - from a toddler to now and still loving a bike!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Do you have a fond memory of your first or last bike? Do you have stories of falling off and surviving? Are you a motorbike enthusiast? A lot of Midlife women are getting their bike licences and discovering a whole new chapter of life - very inspiring examples of what you can do if you feel the "call of the wild".

First (Middle) and Last Bikes - from a toddler to now and still loving a bike!

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35 comments

  1. It was a pixie cut and done by a hair dresser, not me. If the style is good enough for Ellen DeGeneres and Audrey Hepburn, it should have been good enough for you! I don’t know, KIDS!!
    Well I thought you looked very cute anyway. Love from your terrible mother. xoxo
    P.S. A 75 year old lady arrived at our ladies Red Hat Society lunch riding her motor bike and wearing red leathers top to toe. There is life in us old dogs yet!

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    1. I'm still wondering what that hairdresser was thinking!! Anyway I've moved on after 50 years and only feel slightly damaged by it :) I'm very impressed with the red leathers and the motorbike riding of that 75 yr old - does she have a purple helmet for her birthday rides?

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  2. What fun memories! I remember all my bikes, but I'm especially fond of the one my husband bought me a few years ago. I hadn't been on a bicycle for years, but he took me to the shop and told me to take a test ride. I felt insecure and unstable, but it's as the old saying goes: It's just like riding a bike; you never forget. I have had some wonderful rides on it. Every time I get on, I feel the same sense of child-like freedom. Thank you for the reminder.

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    1. I loved buying a bike that was more "me" this time Melody - the little basket on the front makes me smile and is actually quite useful.

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  3. I love this so much and I know small part because I really don't remember mine. I mean I remember having a banana seat but that's about it. My husband on the other hand remembers the very moment he got his first bike. It's one of his strongest childhood memories

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    1. I was always envious of the whole banana seat and dragster handlebars that some kids had Carla - so you must have been doing okay :)

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  4. Because I've developed arthritis in an ankle I broke a long time ago, I decided to get back into bicycling. It makes my ankle feel better. So I just bought a new one. My last? Who knows!

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    1. I love that bike riding gives us exercise but is fun to do at the same time and glad that you found you could still do it with a bad ankle.

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  5. I was thinking just the other day that i'd love to have a bike again. We used to have bikes with long handlebars. They were fun. I had a 10 speed but thought it was uncomfortable and sold it years ago. I love the bubble tire old fashioned bikes. They're cool.

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    1. I like that you sit up straighter with this type of bike Rebecca. I'm tall and I used to find leaning over to ride quite uncomfortable.

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  6. Like Carla, I remember my 'banana seat' bike the best. Like Shari, I'm not sure that my current bike will be my last (I sincerely hope that it's not)! And I LOVE the comment from your Mom. Great post, Leanne!

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    1. As I said to Carla, I was always so jealous of kids who had banana seat bikes Donna - but I do love my current bike and it may be my last but I never say never! And yes, mum handballed that haircut nicely didn't she? :)

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  7. I don't know whether I had a bike when I was really little, but I certainly had one when I was a teenager that I used to ride to my girlfriend's house and I have one now. My elder brothers were motorbike mad and I used to ride trail bikes through the bushland just near where we lived. I was a bit of a tomboy back then. #TeamLovinLife

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    1. I remember riding my bike to my girlfriend's house when I was a teenager too Kathy - it was the only way to go back then because parents weren't the taxi drivers that they are today.

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  8. Until I started high school my bike was always my most treasured item. All of the kids in our neighbourhood had bikes and we went so many places on them. Tidying out the garage a few weeks ago I uncovered my adult bike which has been stored away for a couple of years after being diagnosed with Plantar Fascia. Now that I have a management plan for the foot, it's time to get on the bike once again.

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    1. I see less kids on bikes these days Jenni - they seem to be inside or occasionally on a scooter. We lived on our bikes when I was a teenager because they were our only means of transport. I'm also enjoying just riding occasionally for pleasure these days too - hope you find your pedalling mojo again soon :)

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  9. Love the pic of you on your first bike Leanne. Bikes were a big part of my childhood. We rode our bikes everywhere, including to and from school. I don't have one now, which is a little sad #TeamLovinLife

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    1. I lived over the road from my primary school so I could walk every day, but I certainly needed that two wheeler to get to see my friends afterwards.

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  10. The last time I got on a bike was to ride around the wineries in Martinborough NZ - I fell off before I'd even had a drink! #TeamLovinLife

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    1. The question is - did everyone pull out their phones to record your ignomy for posterity Jo? Or did you manage to escape unscathed?

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  11. What a totally fun post Leanne!!
    My hubby and I started riding bikes again a couple years ago, but got out of the habit soon after.
    When I was growing up, my grandparents owned a bike shop, and I even had a unicycle. Those are great memories!!
    XOXO
    Jodie
    www.jtouchofstyle.com

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    1. I would love to see a picture of you on that unicycle Jodie - and I bet you wouldn't stand a chance trying to balance on it these days!

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  12. I actually gave my daughter a haircut like that when she was about three. I was going for what you had, but it turned out like a mullet and I had to schedule an emergency repair cut for her.

    I'm assuming the bike has put an end to your gym woe? I'm also inspired to get out on my own bike before we get twelve feet of snow every other day and live in the NH mitten again.

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    1. Hi Susan - please pass my sympathies on to your poor daughter - at least you had the hairdresser rescue her before she was scarred for life :) And no, the bike doesn't get ridden fast enough or far enough to get rid of all those midlife calories unfortunately!

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  13. I forgot about my tricycle. I was thinking of my first actual bike, but guess that was my second. It's the one I remember most however. We have a recording (from when I was 9 or so) and my father mentions that my brother painted my bike green for me as it was my favourite colour. From memory it was painted a very lime green!!!

    I think when I went to high school I got a larger sized bike. I've often contemplated getting something since I moved to my seaside town and while I lived right on the beach and the walking track it would have been good / ideal, but now I'm out of town so it isn't very practical! #teamlovinlife

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    1. Maybe it will be something to buy with all that spare cash from the full time job Deb? You can ride it when you're back to being a part-timer again. I bet you don't choose a lime green one though!

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  14. I love these posts that you're doing Leanne. Gorgeous photo's of you on your various bikes at various ages. I remember having a trike as a kid and one in particular that had a backside so I could give my younger siblings a ride. I remember I was in Year 6 and we were living in rural Mitchell [Qld] when I got my first 'two wheeler' bike. It was a red Speedwell bike and I loved that bike so much! On another topic, OMG just saw the pics of your leg after the fall off the motorbike. It looked awful! So glad you weren't hurt worse though! #TeamLovinLife

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    1. Yes a back seat makes more sense than a back "side" Min - and the bruised leg got me a lot of sympathetic noises from others while I had it! I'm certainly more tentative when I get on the back of the bike now than I was when we first got it!

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  15. The trike had a 'BACK SEAT' not a 'BACK SIDE' LOL

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  16. Great to read your post and see your photos from years ago Leanne. I have always had a bike and love riding. We often go away for weekends and holidays with our bikes on the back of the car. We’ve also done cycling tours overseas in France and Croatia. I especially like the bike basket on your current bike, so useful! Thanks for sharing at Bloggers Pit Stop 😊

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    1. You manage to turn all your pastimes into exercise opportunities Deb - I bet you have a mountain bike with at least 10 gears! I just tootle along on mine around the neighbourhood - which explains why I don't lose any calories when I ride it!

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  17. My first bike memory was a red sparkly "Black Horse" dragster with training wheels. I was about 5 and a boy in the street told me I was too old for training wheels so I went home and took them off and pushed myself to be a big girl. My next bike was a purple Malvin Star road bike (girls) and my next bike which I still have was bought 25 years ago and is a green and white mountain bike. I get seriously bad bike bum which puts me off riding. That first day on the bike though I LOVE! It would actually be my preferred exercise if it wasn't for the after effects. #teamlovinlife

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    1. A RED SPARLKLY DRAGSTAR Leanne! My 10 year old self is exceedingly jealous of you! I would have killed for a bike like that instead of a sensible Malvern Star! And yes I totally understand that bike seat issue - it's not so bad on my new bike because I think I sit on it differently - the last bike was a killer!

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  18. Loved hearing about your history with bikes!! I'm looking at upgrading my push bike to a mountain bike this Christmas so I can keep up with the kids!!

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    1. I've never had the desire for a mountain bike Kerrie - but if it meant the kids wanted to ride with me, I might have considered one. I really like my upright one where I'm not bent over the handlebars and getting hot and sweaty.

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