Friday, January 2, 2015

My Bike - Story about one of my favorite things growing up

(In keeping with the theme from the last post, here is a an essay I wrote in school about one of my favorite things in the world at that time, my bike.)

I remember the first day I got it. It was a weekday after school near the end of 7th grade. My dad took me to the bike shop. I picked out a chrome colored Dyno freestyle bike. I was so excited I could hardly contain myself! As soon as I got home I was riding it and did not stop until it got dark and I had to come in. The next day at school, I couldn't even concentrate on my work because I was so excited to get back home and ride it.

So how did I become so interested in bikes? It started when this guy moved into a house across the street. He was in his early 20s and he and his friend each had freestyle bmx bikes they would ride in the street. They had a ramp they would bring out every now and then and jump it and do tricks. I thought they were so cool so I had to get a bike like them. He was nice enough to hang out with us and let us use the ramp.

Back to the bike. I kept it in perfect condition. There was not one smudge on the whole bike and for a chrome bike, that is pretty tough to maintain. I rode it every day as long as the weather was good. There was no way I would bring it out in the rain.

One night I opened the door leading to the garage and saw the garage door had been left open. I was about to close it but something didn't look right. I glanced to the side where I kept my bike and froze. My bike wasn't there! I stood there for a few moments in disbelief. Frantically I tried to remember if I left it at a friend's house. I hadn't. Did I leave it somewhere? No. I quickly ran outside and looked down the street hoping to see someone riding it. No one was there. I couldn't believe it. My bike, my very favorite thing had been stolen.

I was in shock. We lived in a good neighborhood where kids didn't even hesitate to just leave their bike lying around outside. Who would do such a thing? Was it some kid in the neighborhood or did someone with a van drive by looking for open garages to take things from? What was I going to do now? I had no bike to ride! I couldn't sleep a wink that night as my mind was racing all night.

I started thinking it was time for a new bike anyway. Although my old bike was still in good condition, I had worn it into the ground and would have had to get a new one soon anyway. A few months later I got a new bike. It was great, but it wasn't the same. It was a better bike, but I still wanted my old one back. I didn't have the same love for riding I had before. What used to be a daily activity became a weekly activity, then a monthly activity. Soon I did not ride at all. I guess as I got older my interest switched more to cars as I was getting towards the age of driving.

Although I made quite an effort to find my old bike, I never got it back. There is no happy ending to this story other than the good memories it provided over the years.

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