First Bike Memory

Running into the bushes...being so traumatic no wonder it's one of my first memories.

My dad taught me how to ride a bike when I was younger. Like most little kids I learned on a bike where if I wanted to stop all I had to do was pedal backwards. Well one day I was at a family friend's house and I borrowed one of their bikes. We rode around their hilly street. I was headed down the hill faster then I wanted to go and was headed straight for the end of the road. The road ended at a bushy area. I scrambled to pedal backwards as hard and as fast as I could so I could stop before hitting the bushes. My feet just kept going backwards and I wasn't slowing down. Next thing I knew I was in the bushes, my legs completely scraped up and filled with thorns. I was inches from hitting a big tree. I remember running back to the house crying to my dad. I didn't understand, I pedaled backwards and the bike wouldn't stop. That's when I was informed for the first time that the bike I was using had hand brakes...something no one had bothered to tell me before I got on.

My 3 yr old is at the age where he wants to graduate from his tricycle to riding a "real" bike like his older cousins. Balance Bikes might just be the answer for both of us. Balance Bikes are a great way for kids to learn how to ride a bike without training wheels...or pedals. I know it may sound silly, no pedals. Kids sit on the bike and walk or run themselves around. This allows kids to learn how to balance themselves and before you know it they'll be gliding around for hours.

Read other's first bike memories here.