When and how did you first learn to ride a bike?(The Good the Bad and the Ugly)

[AussiXS11G]

well now......being born at a very young age I was influenced by my father.....


however my first m/cycle was the first one I rode - a 1955 Manurhin - I was in grade 11 (16 y/o) and had injured my R knee playing the mugs game (ARL) -lived a ways from school, couldn't ride the bicycle so Dad suggested a motor scooter - bless his heart....I crashed the first day out (grabbed a handful of brake in gravel at the corner of Kirby Road and Ellison Road, Aspley - skinned both palms - haven't ridden without gloves since) and punished the machine till the end of grade 12.



and the rest is history........
my second bike and first re-build (this is not the machine but it was identical) One of Dads friends sold me a 1949 G80 Matchless - needed a gearbox, paint and chrome - I did the whole strip down, bearings et al......rode it for a while, sold it to a mate who fuken chopperised it!!??, it caught fire and burned to the ground...

[steptoe]

started riding "chookies",, and aggies when I left school with my first job on a local farm mustering sheep and cattle,,

my first road bike experience, my older brother had a GSX 1100, by now I,d bought my own chookie, a XLX250

he took me for a double out on a quite road, which got me thinking,, then he asked if I,d like to ride back home, only a couple of klm

gingerly took off and got it rolling, then a hand came over my shoulder grabbed the throttle over my hand and started twisting,,, kind of had to have one after that,

pretty much taught myself, have never done a course of any sort,

[excess.11]

At a year11 party a friend had an Aggie(Agricultural) bike........sort of the posties bike of the day.........had high and low ratio gears and single seat with a pack rack.
After offering it around to a few people for a ride around the block.......it was my turn.
I was briefly shown a thing or two.......and then off i went.
I don t think my mate knew how drunk i was at the time ...probably neither did i.......because the party was in Essendon..........and somehow i ended up in Williamstown!!It was a beautiful balmy night.....wearing a bean box that screamed ...." pull me over ossifa".......and i was cruisin the city and suburbs like Easy Rider...........or so i thought.
Now.......those were the days.!!!!
The hooks were firmly in after that ride.