WHEELS IN TWOS & THREES

 

Me on my little red tricycle with my brother in 1945.

A few years later Santa brought my brother his own blue trike, and my younger sister, a little kiddie trike in yellow and red.  Santa brought me dolls and books that year.

My son trying to ride his red & white tricycle in the snow.  He needed chains. J

You’ve seen this snap before  - the Christmas eldest daughter decided Santa had brought her the “Big Wheel”.  The doll & cradle were surely for someone else!

She did eventually get her own 3-wheeler, however, as did younger daughter seen here on her brother’s first tricyle.  In fact both daughters, in turn, rode that small trike.  It held up well.  Meanwhile, their brother was still whippin’ around on the “Big Wheel” which made a terrible racket rolling on cement or pavement.  We were so glad to have him graduate to a bike except then, of course, we worried about where he was riding it and how carefully?

Talk about big wheels!  A three-wheeled water trike got a trial here with the sisters at Lake Tahoe some years ago.  

It looked like a ton of fun and I wanted a turn, but they rode way on out there and by the time they got back, our rental time was up and we’d have to pay again if I wanted to try it, so, oh well.

On my 12th birthday my folks gave me a bike very much like this one.  It was second-hand, but Dad had painted it a pretty blue and really fixed it up with white sidewall tires and other fancy gee-gaws.  It came with a 3-position gear shift which was great for riding up hills!  I rode that bike all over heck & gone.  Funny thing – I don’t remember either one of my sisters ever riding it or any bike when they were younger, nor even my brother though I’m sure he, at least, must have?  I know my youngest sister rode bikes when she was older because we used to rent bikes in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco and ride through the park. 

Me on a rented bike in Golden Gate Park in front of Huntingdon Falls at Stow Lake in 1968.  Sis took the pic’.

Two wheels replaced the three-wheelers for my kids at various older ages seen here in Sugar Pine Point State Park, Lake Tahoe in 1984.

And again the following year in 1985

Eldest daughter poses here on a bridge over the Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam in 1998.  She had a long layover in Amsterdam on a flight to Budapest, so she and a fellow passenger decided to rent bikes and ride around the city for a while to see the sights.

Back in California in 2001, she is seen here riding in an annual charity ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles – a distance of 500+ miles.  It was a huge event with 2700 riders and full support along the route.

Tent City!  Support crews ahead of them would have their overnight camps set up by the time they finished their leg of the journey each day.  They slept two or three to a tent but still, that’s a lot of tents.  The event took mega planning!

And at the end of the ride she celebrated!  Whew.

Unfortunately, three years later she was injured in a boating accident and could no longer balance on a two-wheeler, so we got her a three-wheeler!

She rode it around for a while, but it wasn’t the same as riding a two-wheeler and when we moved to a new location with narrow hilly streets, it got to be too difficult anyway.  So no more grown-up trike.  It was fun for a while, though.  I even rode it around a bit.

Grandkids today don’t fool around with tricycles.  They go right to the two-wheelers!  At a family gathering these two were encouraging each other to hurry up because the boys were getting ahead of them!

:->

La Nightingail


Comments

  1. PeterMay 10, 2024 at 5:06 AM

    Looking at the 1984 and 1985 pictures of your children, the difference struck me. It looks like they changed from kids to almost grown-ups in a year! When your eldest posed on the bridge in Amsterdam, she was not over the Amstel River but over the Prinsengracht, one of the major canals. The bridge is the Prinsensluis-bridge (#60). If you look up this view in Google Maps, you can see the houseboat with the yellow roof is still there. Anyway, your post this week leaves an overwheelming impression ;-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. La NightingailMay 10, 2024 at 8:04 AM

      Thanks for the correction in the name of the canal. I had simply gone online & asked what river flowed through Amsterdam which didn't give me the right answer. I shall correct my error. You're right - the two pictures of my children from 1984 to 1985 do show quite a contrast - especially of my son. He was 15 in the first & 16 in the second. :)

      Delete
  2. Barbara RogersMay 10, 2024 at 1:57 PM

    How very many wheels your family enjoyed...those that are pedal powered at least. Great to see the changes, and I do remember my youngest had a big wheel, which certainly made a lot of noise. I was a tricycle gal that graduated to 10 speed by college. It was the only way to get around on a busy (flat at least) campus, in my 30s when I went back for my degrees.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. La NightingailMay 11, 2024 at 8:08 AM

      That's cool you went back for your degrees! I wanted to apply for a job teaching music at our local grade school a few years back (in my 40s) but didn't think I had quite enough knowledge to do it properly, so took classes at our local community college in music theory, music history, & one called music practicum, to help me feel more confident. I remember thinking it fun & challenging to be taking these classes alongside kids in their late teens & early 20s. :))

      Delete
  3. Mike BrubakerMay 12, 2024 at 8:10 AM

    That's a LOT of trike and bikes! The durability of old tricycles that were made of steel and got passed down through siblings and even generations is impressive. The plastic stuff was never made to last. That water trike looks positively dangerous and exhausting to ride. Can't imagine it being much fun on an ocean shore with real surf and rip currents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. La NightingailMay 12, 2024 at 8:25 PM

      I believe you're right about trying to ride that water trike in the ocean. The lake is a little different I think. The girls had loads of fun with it which is why I wanted to try it but they used up all our rental time.

      Delete

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