Freewheeling

Nine Adventurous Tales of Boys and Their Bikes 

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Introduction

Going Beyond

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For a child, a bicycle opens up a world beyond walking — just a little beyond childhood and the familiar neighbourhood. It lets a boy or girl go faster than they can run, but not so fast that they lose touch with where they are. It’s travel powered by your own legs, at your own pace. You’re part of it. And sometimes there isn’t any real destination. The ride itself is enough.

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It’s also a world just beyond parental reach. A bike lets kids move through and away from their neighbourhood, out past what they know, and often out of sight. That’s where the adventures begin —some good, some not so good. 

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In going beyond what’s familiar, kids learn how to handle things on their own. They figure things out. They skin their knees. They make mistakes. They try again.

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For a lot of kids growing up in Canada, learning to ride a bike comes right after learning to skate at the local rink. It’s a kind of rite of passage — from being looked after all the time to having a bit of independence. You start to have ideas of your own, and now you’ve got a way to act on them. Not that you need a bike to get into trouble — I certainly didn’t — but it does help you get into trouble a little farther from home.

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These are nine stories from those years, starting around 1967 or ’68, growing up in Toronto’s west end.