Childhood freedom your bike gave you. Your stories....

[galaxy]

Had amazing fun on my bikes as a Kid, kids growing up these dayskids dont seem intrested in adventures we used to go on, or its to unsafe.
My Dad used to work away at sea, the first thing he did when he came home was always take me to Barnes park, near Sunderland to feed the ducks, he would have the said duck bread and a bottle of orange squash and we had 3 Chocolate Digestives each, he always said Mum would put 2 in the bag each and when she wasnt looking hed sneak another one in. He would be on foot, my earliest memory of this was on my Raleigh Budgie, still on stabilisers, lol.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Did you go to to St Ivo?
I used to go out with a girl called Ruth who lived in Earith

No I moved away midway through my last year of primary school up to the North East, my dad worked at Fisons at Hauxton and got out as they were being taken over as he'd been told his department would be scrapped.

I was down for going to Ramsey if we'd stayed, for some reason the Ivo wasn't popular in Bluntisham.

 

[glasgowcyclist]

When I was 13/14 I'd head out with a bunch of mates up the Campsie Fells, about 20 miles away from home. We didn't carry any food with us; I carried a puncture kit in a tiny saddle bag and someone else might have had a pump, that was it. And no 'cycling clothes', helmets or hi-vis - just t-shirt, denims and Doc Martens. Oh, I did have toe-straps!

I don't think any of us even had a watch. We'd just ride out, climb the Fells and head back, maybe stopping at a bakers on the way back.

When we were 15/16 we'd go a bit further afield and visit Prestwick Airport to watch the planes (when you could still get inside an airport freely). That was an 80-mile round trip and we thought nothing of it. Cycling was how youngsters in my area got around, cars were for rich folk.

I remember one summer a few of us would mess around in a local park that had long, winding paths with a sort of compacted ash surface. We'd take turns at belting along the longest path to max speed then yank on the back brake to see who could produce the longest skid. I did it and just as I surpassed the previous best heard a huge bang as my rear tyre exploded. Oh what fun!

GC

 

[Gravity Aided]

I think, as part of a large Army or National Guard operation in the 1960's, a big old twin boom tailed cargo plane flew over our neighborhood, dropping a big parachute with a crate on it some miles away. We saw this, rode out there on our bikes, and the soldiers gave us kids the drogue parachute as they were opening the crate, which had some supplies in it. We hung around for a bit, then went home and used the drogue chute for slowing our bike at the end of our" drag races".

 

[MontyVeda]

First bike gave the freedom to become a mobile purveyor of imaginary frozen dairy products.
Hours spent with it turned upside down and when I turned the cranks imaginary ice cream would appear which was sold to imaginary friends. Hours of fun.

LOL... I wonder why it was always an ice cream maker and not a chocolate biscuit machine or something.

 

[Brains]

I had a Raleigh Shopper (20" wheels) bike, I remember aged about 13-14 riding with a load of my mates from Blackheath to Bickley a round trip of about 25 miles to go to a swimming pool, another trip riding out to Lulingstone to dive in the river about a 30 mile round trip, and a solo trip out to the south downs, taking sandwiches and water with me and an army basha and penknife in case I ended up camping out, a 60-70 mile round trip

It was quite a bit later, when I had a slightly better bike and a pair of cheap Halfords panniers, 2 older mates set off for the south of France on their bikes, and a three weeks later 3 of us took a coach down to Nice and joined them, we then rode 700 miles in 2 weeks across France to Bordeaux. That then gave me the cycle touring bug, and within a year, three months wages had been blown on a decent touring bike and proper panniers.

 

[Ed Phelan]

I went on some great bike rides with close friends, exploring new places. But alas, I have to say the greatest freedom my bike gave me as a child was in the dead of night, in which I'd take my bike out on empty roads and ride for hours on end when I couldn't sleep. It was always fun running into odd people; I remember lots of drunk people were always out and I even saw a huge drunken brawl once.

I remember getting stopped by police a couple of times too. Guess I just looked a tad shady. Good times!

 

[jonny jeez]

Talking about exploring as a kid.... When I was 14 my dad, who was about 45 and ANCIENT wore totally different clothes, listened to different music and had different Interests.

Today my kids and their friends seem to have many things in common with my generation.

However, yesterday I was reminded of the gap.

I was out in a local village supporting my wife on a 10k organised run and was with my youngest and a friend if hers who has lived in the village since birth...she is 15.

She asked how we would watch the run and I said we should see the start, then cross the road and head into the woods to see the runners pass at a couple of points.

The woods is less that 50 yards away from the start of the run... and the village is named after it (pettswood).

My daughters mate said, "there's a woods...i didn't know there was a wood" It made me chuckle how different my childhood actually was, kids just seem to "get to" places rather than exploring and with communications as good as they are, they know where and when to all meet...to the second.

I'm not sure who is better off. I used to spend all day finding all my mates and come home with wellies full.of water and covered in mud and tree bark...my kids manage their time to a very well organised social schedule and leave little to chance.

 

[User33236]

One ride that sticks in my mind as a kid, probably about 10 or 11 years old (it was certainly before by accident with and irn bru bottle that knackered by hand for a good few years keeping me off bikes) was one I did from Airdrie to Falkirk and back with a mate.

We set off early one morning during summer holidays on a route that took us up behind a local distillery. We got to the point where we normally turned back but decided that day to carry on not having a clue where we were heading. Any some time later we passed a sign saying we were in Falkirk. We had no idea where that was, what time it was or even how far we'd come.

We decided to ask a local what time it was and decide what to do from there. 'half past' came the answer. Still none the wiser and too scared to asked 'half past what?' we decided to turn back anyway.

I'very since checked the route and found we had gone a rather indirect way and clocked up just under 45 miles all without food, water, money or anything in the way of tools or puncture repair kit as was typical back then. I wouldn't leave the house without that sort of stuff these days!.

 

[RedRider]

LOL... I wonder why it was always an ice cream maker and not a chocolate biscuit machine or something.

A biscuit producing bike? That's just crazy!

 

[RedRider]

A bit later on my red ten speed racer was my passport to freedom. Me and me mate Ste would ride out from the western edges of Widnes, out over the runcorn bridge and away to Delamere Forest for the day. I don't think our mams and dads had the first clue where we'd disappear to and we were always back for tea. I guess we were 11 or twelve years old.

 

[MontyVeda]

A bit later on my red ten speed racer was my passport to freedom. Me and me mate Ste would ride out from the western edges of Widnes, out over the runcorn bridge and away to Delamere Forest for the day. I don't think our mams and dads had the first clue where we'd disappear to and we were always back for tea. I guess we were 11 or twelve years old.

I wonder how many parents these days say "Sod off and don't come back 'til tea time!"

 

[Brains]

T
The woods is less that 50 yards away from the start of the run... and the village is named after it (pettswood).

My daughters mate said, "there's a woods...i didn't know there was a wood" It made me chuckle how different my childhood actually was, kids just seem to "get to" places rather than exploring and with communications as good as they are, they know where and when to all meet...to the second.

I'm not sure who is better off. I used to spend all day finding all my mates and come home with wellies full.of water and covered in mud and tree bark...my kids manage their time to a very well organised social schedule and leave little to chance.

We lived in Chislehurst up until I was about 12-13, my brother and I spent hours riding around those woods, including night time rides with friends when we were all supposed to be camping out in the very large rear garden we had.

Those cycling skills I learnt around that time blasting through the woods have stood me in good stead ever since, and although I'm now closer to 60 than I am to 50 I still do the odd bid of MTB with teenagers, and am always surprised that I'm usually far faster and more skilful than they are!

 

[ANT 666]

On the day of the 66 world cup final me and 2 mates rode from coventry to leicester about 45 mile round trip almost no traffic as most folks were watching the bladder kickers. I was on a sun 5 speed, one mate had a 10 speed(lucky git) can't remember what it was though.I was 10 3/4 at the time.

 

[NorvernRob]

I used to ride all over with friends, but my fondest memory is riding from Sheffield to Skegness (86 miles) with a mate when we were 15. We set off at 3am so barely any traffic, and I've no idea if cycling on the A1 was allowed at the time (I don't think there was an A1M section then as there is now) but we cycled up it anyway.

It was a pretty leisurely ride on mountain bikes with knobbly tyres, with plenty of stops at petrol stations for refreshments. The total elapsed time was around 11 hours, these days I'd do it in 5-5.30 but I wouldn't have anywhere near as much fun as I did then.