Learning to ride a bike
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Can you remember learning how to ride a bike? I can. I was about 8 or 9 years old. Some older boys living a couple of houses up had bicycles and they offered to teach me to ride.
It took an entire afternoon and some abrasions to the palms of my hands and to my knees. It wasn’t entirely successful, I needed a few goes.
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I got a bike for my birthday
It wasn’t long after I learnt to ride that I was begging Mum and Dad for a bicycle. It took a couple of years but when I was 12 I got a bike for my birthday. It was a fluorescent lime green dragster. That was the style in the day. It had high rise Angel bars, a black banana seat, and a three-speed gear system along with calliper brakes on both the wheels.
BMX modifications
It wasn’t long before I started modifying it. In 1977, bicycle motocross (BMX) was making its way into Australia. I started with changing the forks, handlebars and seat to something not so 1970s and more practical. The next change were those yellow nylon tuff wheels. I started with the rear wheel which meant removing the gear system and installing a coaster braking mechanism. Soon I had a new front wheel too. The big change occurred when I saved enough money for a chromium molybdenum Mongoose™ frame. It was a dark metallic blue colour.
It’s a pity I don’t have any photographs from that era. You’d see me with shoulder length hair, really dark skin and a bicycle transformation that confused, annoyed and at times angered my mother and father. They had bought me a bike. It was a perfectly good bike. The purchase and receipt of that bike meant I was formally allowed to ride on the streets, spend a day in the bush with my mates, and play in traffic. Having something of my own, gave me a sense that I could really make it my own by modifying it and doing things to it.
It marked the beginning of how I would look at other possessions. My second car was a good example.
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Learn to ride centre
Why am I writing all this crap? The ACT Government, our national capital’s local council if you will, has recently installed a Learn to Ride Centre near an ‘adventure playground’ on Lake Ginninderra in the town centre of Belconnen on the north side of Canberra. It’s taken months to build. For the life of me, I can’t understand why construction projects big or small in Canberra take so long. In any other state or territory capital, you don’t see things like this taking so long. In other countries, it wouldn’t be tolerated. Who knows? Perhaps it’s the curmudgeon in me coming out.
I hope this Learn to Ride Centre gets well used, this morning I only saw a couple walking their dog through it. At one stage the dog emptied its bladder on a pathway. No kids on bicycles though.
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In other news
Cows
The cows in the top paddock on Lake Ginninderra amuse me. I like visiting them and saying hello.
More photographs
Autumn trees in winter
Bollards in Lake Ginninderra
If you like the Canva App, head over to the Canva Website and check it out. I really like using it.Streaming light over Lake Ginninderra
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Check out these other posts
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Are you feeling hungry?
Last night I made chilli chicken wings with ginger, honey and soy.
Click on the infographic and get taken to the recipe
Click on the photograph for the recipe
“Why am I writing all this crap?” Hey that’s what I ask myself regularly! Love the cows. I am naming her (or him) Esmerelda.
I also thought you were learning to ride as an adult. Vaginal juice? Not something I say a lot I’m going to have to admit. I remember learning to ride. Lots of falling off, cuts, thinking off giving up but trying again. The first 100 meters without falling off was great. Ah…memories!
Esmerelda is a great name for a cow.
Good memories, because for most people, you never have to learn again 🤣
I saw the bike park the other day Gary when walking around the lake. I hadn’t been around the lake for many months so it was a surprise for me but did think it was pretty fabulous.
It looks all shiny and new
When I saw the title of this post, I thought we were going to get to hear about you learning to ride a bike as an adult!
That would be hilarious. Given how acutely uncoordinated I am it would be a post full of blood and scars.
But it would certainly be an amusing post – perhaps worth the blood and scars!
The photographs would be cool, especially a daily review of the bruises 😂
Those could be potential podcast material as well.
They’d be great fun to talk about and show on YouTube with a daily rundown of the change in bruise colour 😃
So, now what you need to do is pretend you don’t know how to ride a bike and you’ve got all this blog and podcast content!
Yep, I could do that 😱
Loved your cow selfie!!! Your bike stories were great-I actually don’t remember learning to ride my nana seat bike. I had one and rode it everywhere when I was about in 4th grade. I remember my sister learning, THAT was hilarious! She used to stop in a bushy tree near the trailer (not the same one I ran into when learning to drive). It seems odd it is cold in your sector. It is chilly here in AK, too, but mostly cuz summer is on hold for some odd reason. Doesn’t keep the tourists away!
Thanks Kris, those cows are quite friendly and inquisitive.
While not anywhere near as cold as Alaska, Canberra gets very fresh in winter. It goes against everything I believe it, but I have a great job and whenever my skin complains I remind myself that I have a very good job and work with marvellous people.
laughed!