When birthday number twelve did come around
Fed up with all the walking round and round
I was allowed to have a proper bike
Even though I was still just a little tyke
As in our town traffic was very light
And battery headlamps were used at night
I was then allowed to ride off to school
And of course did ride through each muddy pool
Back home all our bikes were kept in a shed
And were locked up when we were abed
In those days most bikes were coloured black
I painted mine red, flair it did not lack
Me and my friends rode about everywhere
By streams and villages without a care
To the main railway line to observe
Steam trains thunder under the bridge we were
Then on homeward way by a country lane
Through river ford we'd splash which was insane
I feel sad when I recall my pushbike
For it was my best friend in my minds psyche
Much like my motor is for me today
Who is my trusty friend I might say
But remember just how good it did feel
To hear the whirring of my cycle's wheel
Image found at www.pinterest.com
You paint a picture of FREEDOM! And we started out at the same age. Mine was a blue Huffy. We had to walk our bikes for a quarter mile to get off the big road, and then we could go and go and go!
ReplyDeleteA lovely piece with a delightful rhyme. Such great feeling of freedom, especially in the last two sentences.
ReplyDeleteWhat a time machine this poem is!!! On two wheels no less!!
ReplyDeleteAny bike that doesn't go through a muddy pool hasn't had a proper baptism!
ReplyDeleteBicycles are wrapped up in so many happy childhood memories. Thanks for sharing yours! I liked the rhyming.
ReplyDeleteI loved my bike too I used to ride it back and forth to high school accept in winter. Love your ode to your bike I can picture it all.
ReplyDeleteYou take me back to my first bike at the same age. It was a used one, but it took me far out into the country, and I loved it.
ReplyDeleteI lived in the city so the bus was faster and quite a bit safer. You make me feel envy for the freedom you recall,
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
I had a red Royal Enfield - it was a beauty.. oh to be young again..
ReplyDeleteAh, those were the good old days, Robin. What an image...I still love spinning the pedals and watching scenery whizz by... so beautifully penned!! Somehow you sketched life in your poem! Loved it...!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful, Robin. Made me feel nostalgic for my blue bike with colored streamers on the handlebars.
ReplyDeleteI prefer the Bentley Continental you drive today.That would be my best friend too.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased to be sharing with someone like you, who can remember such things! A push-bike to ride to school, how cool is that? Your poem was awesome and I loved that you colored your bike red. You are still coloring life your way today!
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