I started when I was just about four, maybe five, but the day my parents bought me my first bicycle I was set. I jumped on my little bike and rode it all around my neighborhood, waving at the kids, playing and enjoying the freedom, so then began the start of my favorite pastime.

On occasion I would run into the older neighborhood kids and yell, “Hey” to get their attention, so I could ride around with them. One time they decided that they would tell me scary stories about a clown living in the sewer. This made me not want to ride with them anymore. After this event happened, I didn’t ride much especially once they dropped the sewer lid into the sewer, which made me think the clown escaped. I cried until the fire department covered the sewer again. Once the kids scared me, I didn’t ride as much as I used to, but I wanted my training wheels off. I asked my dad, “Can I learn to ride without my training wheels?” and he said I wasn’t ready. Finally, on my fourth birthday, my parents bought me a bright red Mongoose. I still used training wheels, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get out and ride.

After having the bike for a few months, my family and I planned on moving out to the country to start a new life. As the months passed after moving, I decided I was done with training wheels. The next day I had my dad take them off. The feeling of my two feet touching the ground and my body trembling from my thoughts of falling filled my head. It took me a few tries, but I was finally able to balance and no longer had a fear of falling. Losing the training wheels would be another big step toward what I am able to do today.

The years went by, and I was getting better and better at being able to ride on two wheels. I had gone through two more bikes during this time and wasn’t going to stop there. I was determined to get better. I asked my mom if I could get a new bike, but not just any bike. I wanted a bmx bike, and she said, “No, I am not going to buy you another bike.” I became super disappointed. I was about to turn twelve, but I hadn’t given up on getting a new bike. I talked to my grandma, and she bought me a bmx bike to ride at her house. After riding it there for awhile, she wanted me to have it since I had been wanting one. This made me ecstatic, so I went and told my best friend that I finally received a new bike. Once this happened I rode all over the place to Defiance, Holgate, and even Continental a few times. We probably rode about 500 miles in one summer. Every summer or every day for that matter, my friend and I rode wherever we felt like.

After a few more years passed, we still rode and covered probably 2,000 miles in three summers, but suddenly he started hanging out with new friends. I was upset that this happened after all the time we spent riding together. I decided I wanted to find new friends, which is what I did, and they are still my friends today. I stopped riding for a couple years because they didn’t ride bikes.

I started to miss riding after seeing people riding uptown and around the country, so I talked to my friends and said, “Do you guys want to go on a bike ride or something.” They thought about it and told me, “We’ll give it a shot.” Our first time out, we were all really tired after about twenty minutes, and we were sore the next day. We found that riding bikes was something that we all enjoyed, and it gave us something new to do. It brought back the good memories of riding with my old friend. My friends told me, “We should do this more often” once they realized how fun riding could be. I decided that I wanted to get another bike. A black bmx bike called the Mode 540 made by Mongoose, of course, turned out to be my next bike. It felt light and durable, which was just what I needed to start learning tricks. This past summer became one of the best mainly because I bought a new bike and learned a few tricks like a 180 and a 360.

My entire life as a bike rider will never stop from my childhood to my adulthood. I love being outside on a sunny day with the wind gliding against my cheeks. The clicking sound of my cassette hub by my feet also settled my craving to ride. When I rode in downtown Defiance, I started to learn more and more until I performed good enough for other riders to notice. After riding uptown a few times, I had people ask me to ride with them, so I thought, ‘Why not? It will be fun.’ After getting to know them and riding with them, I learned even more and became even better. I can now wall ride and complete a 180-drop fakie. Every time I ride I clinch the rubbery grips, spin my red, white, and blue pedals, and see where my bike will take me next.

After all of this time, I made new friends, kept old ones, and learned many new tricks that I am capable of on my bike. People should do what they love and not let others stop them. Follow your heart and do what you love. They should get out there and find something that makes them happy and not let anyone tell them otherwise. If I would’ve let that happen, I wouldn’t be where I am today not only on my bike, but in my life.