I got a yellow bmx around 1985or 86 from Santa claus,I cycled to school every day that the weather permitted, I was 5 or 6 yrs old, I remember my first ride like it was yesterday.My father brought me down the road to a creamery,the creamery building was in the middle of a ring road, probably no more than 50m around, there is a little river that runs at the back with a 2 ft drop off into it and probably 6" of water on a normal day, I got on the bike and after a few trial runs with my father keeping my balance it was time to go it alone, I panicked went wobbly, forgot how to steer and couldn't remember where the brakes were, straight over the 2ft drop and into the river.It is a very fond memory.From here I cycled everyday I could, throughout school and into my working life, Id cycle to the pub, to my friends, to work, to the nightclub 5 miles away.Basically everywhere.I moved to London over 12 yrs ago at the grand old age of 22 and that was the end of cycling for me.London life took some getting used to, having to get up in the middle of the night,5.30am to get 30 or 40 odd miles into work for an 8am start, the equivalent journey in Ireland would have taken half an hour.Life turned to working sleeping working sleeping with a little time for socialising.I became a father for the first time 3yrs and 3weeks ago.I was 17stone and realised this wasnt good enough,14 stone is an ideal weight for my height/build so I wanted to do something about it.I ended up buying a bike in the summer of 2013.Stopped cycling again for 6 months after this but now I get out when I can.planning on getting out at 5 tomorrow morning and looking forward to it.Im also looking forward to getting my son his first bike and teaching him which will be soon as he is showing a keen interest in my bikes and asking where his one is.my daughter is 3 weeks old so looking to get a tow thingy for her eventually. Im hoping cycling will be a big part in my future for many years to come
Your cycling gap years
- Thread starter anothersam
- Start date
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Cathryn
Legendary Member
- Location
- Marlborough, Wiltshire
My cycling gap years started in 2010 when I had my baby and it was just too much hassle to cycle with him! And they ended last month!!! SO nice to be back on my bike!
coffeejo
Ælfrēd
- Location
- West Somerset
I had a bike as a kid, which I used to ride all over our smallholding and the neighbouring farms - I think the only time I ever rode on a solid, man-made surface was when I did the Cycle Efficiency wotsit at primary school. That bike was abandoned when I was old enough to go out on my own on the various ponies that accompanied me through childhood but I was given a new bike as a teenager - birthday or Christmas, I assume. I only really rode it to visit my best friend who lived in a neighbouring village. I've just checked out the route to hers on bikehike. In my memory, it was really hilly and I had to walk the last section but either I'm a lot more accustomed to hills today or they've levelled my corner of rural Wales!
The ride home was always fun, though, apart from one Sunday afternoon when my wheels vanished from underneath me after an encounter with gravel on a corner and I ended up hitting the deck. Bent the handlebars and caused some other cosmetic damage to the bike but also sprained my thumb on my dominant hand. This is was an immediate problem as I couldn't straighten the bars one-handed so had to push the bike home, which was as much fun as you can imagine with one hand out of action and the bars no longer corresponding to the normal direction of travel. Even worse, I wasn't magically healed by the time I got home so couldn't do my French homework, which landed me in detention as it was the third time in a row I'd not done it.
And now a confession - I stopped cycling in the end because I got a puncture, didn't know how to mend it and either my parents didn't know or couldn't be bothered to help. With nobody else to ask, it went in the shed and may or may not still be there to this day.
I got another bike in my second year at uni but didn't really "cycle", just freewheeled down the hill to campus in the morning and then further down the hill to work in the evening, and then pushed it back up the hill, usually via the SU bar. I think I left it behind when I graduated - a gift for whoever rented the house next.
That was that for a decade or more until I sold my car, decided that the buses round here are rubbish and got a bike for transport. Then I discovered that the bit between A and B was great fun and that was that. Now I've got three bikes and cycle about 6000 miles a year.
The ride home was always fun, though, apart from one Sunday afternoon when my wheels vanished from underneath me after an encounter with gravel on a corner and I ended up hitting the deck. Bent the handlebars and caused some other cosmetic damage to the bike but also sprained my thumb on my dominant hand. This is was an immediate problem as I couldn't straighten the bars one-handed so had to push the bike home, which was as much fun as you can imagine with one hand out of action and the bars no longer corresponding to the normal direction of travel. Even worse, I wasn't magically healed by the time I got home so couldn't do my French homework, which landed me in detention as it was the third time in a row I'd not done it.
And now a confession - I stopped cycling in the end because I got a puncture, didn't know how to mend it and either my parents didn't know or couldn't be bothered to help. With nobody else to ask, it went in the shed and may or may not still be there to this day.
I got another bike in my second year at uni but didn't really "cycle", just freewheeled down the hill to campus in the morning and then further down the hill to work in the evening, and then pushed it back up the hill, usually via the SU bar. I think I left it behind when I graduated - a gift for whoever rented the house next.
That was that for a decade or more until I sold my car, decided that the buses round here are rubbish and got a bike for transport. Then I discovered that the bit between A and B was great fun and that was that. Now I've got three bikes and cycle about 6000 miles a year.
