Banner day for my kid.

[SunDeck]

Those of you without kids, please indulge me. This is the kind of thing that makes you realize your kids are growing up faster than you can imagine.

My five year old demanded to have his training wheels taken off last week. So, I raised them up like a good dad, figuring the kid didn't know what he was in for. I figured he could go a month like that, then we'd give it a try.
Then, while I was out, he bugged my wife until she relented. She bundled him like it was midwinter against the inevitable first wipe out. She removed the training wheels, and lectured him on how he would fall, and that it would hurt a little, but that he'd be okay.

Then he hopped on the bike and took off like he'd been riding for a year.

[westofyou]

Then he hopped on the bike and took off like he'd been riding for a year.

Cool... I had a purple banana seat bike at age five, I took the trainers off the first day, wiped out and continued on with life.

[TRF]

my daughter is 7, and refuses to ride her bike. she almost crashed after we took the training wheels off, and now won't get back on.

Oh she'll tumble all over the place, ride skates, and everything else kids her age do. but she won't go near her bike.

[pedro]

WOY pushed me into some thorn bushes when I was learning to ride a bike.

Jerk

[Falls City Beer]

My older daughter crashed right into a stop sign on her first go 'round on a bike, and I thought, yes, she clearly has the FCB gene.

[DropDocK]

Congrats, kid obviously knew what he was doing!

I had a very small bike when I was 3-4, not much bigger than a tricycle. My dad had the training wheels on briefly before getting rid of them and I didn't look back. Same deal with cups. We never had sippy cups. Just a regular cup that he didn't fill up to the brim and we had to learn to drink without spilling.

[Blimpie]

Much like WOY, I sported the dreaded banana seat on my first bike...but I did manage to avoid purple for the color. No matter, because I had other issues to contend with regarding this bike of mine.

It was presented to me in Massachusetts one summer while we were there visiting my mom's parents. My Portugese grandfather was charged with assembling the thing and...let's just say...he decided to leave the instructions in the plastic wrapper.

After the banana seat was fully situated, it came time to add the OTHER 1970's bicycle staple: The nylon safety flag? For those of you who are scratching your head right now, allow me to elaborate. This orange reflective flag was attached to a thin, fiberglass stick that measured some 4 feet long. The end of the stick was SUPPOSED to be secured to the rear axle with a nut. Supposed to, he said.

This now dearly departed Grandfather of mine assured me that this flag was supposed to be mounted to the FRONT axle of the bike--not the rear. I knew it was wrong, but I was told to stop being disrespectful and allow him to finish assembling my new bicycle.

When he was done, I had the whole neighborhood standing there watching me ride off on my maiden voyage...flag stick smacking me in the face for about two blocks before I finally bailed off of the thing "Ghost Rider style."

My mom finally convinced her father that I was telling the truth about the flag and the problem was later corrected. My detached retinas were fine by the time I returned to fourth grade...

[KittyDuran]

Never had training wheels or a new bike (until I got a job and could pay for it myself - then I rarely used it...). What we did have was an old green women's pedal bike that my Dad got at the Miami U lost and found. My first go on it (about 5) everything was fine until I skidded in a gutter with gravel, then fell off. I remember my Mom picking out the gravel with tweezers. She didn't get it all and up until about 10 years ago I could still feel a very small piece in my right knee. :

If we survived that ordeal and rode the green bike for a while, we could try our hand at the "English Racer", a 3 speed women's bike that my Dad also got at the Miami U lost and found. It took a while to get used to the hand brakes.

[KittyDuran]

My little sis had a banana seat (can't remember the color) but she had the tassles hanging from the hand grips. This was also the bike she wiped out on - doing a front flip thru the handle bars to land on a metal trash can. She was also the only one who would get new bikes. Actually she got 3 - the banana seat, and 2 10-speed boy's bikes which both got stolen. :

[RFS62]

My younger brother always knew how to work the system. He was afraid of riding a bike after a wreck on his first time without training wheels. He cried and whined, and mom bought him a go kart. I had a bike, he had a go kart.

I'd get a paperclip, he'd get an erector set.

[KronoRed]

WOY pushed me into some thorn bushes when I was learning to ride a bike.

Jerk

That's teaching for solid vets

[RedsManRick]

I was just like your kid when it came to my bike SunDeck. I was 4 when I asked my mom to take off the training wheels and she just adjusted them. I told her I wanted the taken completely off and she said I had to wait until my dad got home. I didn't feel like waiting so I went out to the garage and tried to do it myself. Wrenches are complicated when you're 4. When my dad got home, he took them off and warned me about falling. I took off right away and rode around the circle of our closed subdivision. The couldn't get me off that bike for weeks.

I had a black huffy with a hard plastic seat and white plastic coverings over the spokes. It was a thing of beauty.

[RFS62]

WOY pushed me into some thorn bushes when I was learning to ride a bike.

Jerk

You probably had it coming.

:

[SunDeck]

Classic 70's bike:
Purple, three speed, white metallic banana seat, fat slick on the back.


Sissy bar.

[pedro]

Classic 70's bike:
Purple, three speed, white metallic banana seat, fat slick on the back.


Sissy bar.

I had one of these.

Obviously safety was not a concern in 1970's