By Leehe Lev
At four years old I had just progressed from a tricycle to a bicycle with training wheels. Any chance I’d get, all the kids and I would bike around our neighbourhood. The boys were first to ride without training wheels. Their father held their seat and started them off at the top of the hill, run beside them for a few metres and let go. I’d watch them ride down the hill until they wiped out at the bottom. I had to close my eyes for the wipe out part but opened them again to see a big smile on their face. I knew that smile was because until their wipe out, they had their first glimpse of freedom. My father suggested I learned the same way they had. (After five wipe outs at the bottom of the hill, they finally grasped riding).
There was no way I’d learn to ride a bike that way! I was determined to learn to ride with two wheels with as little pain as possible. Every morning before leaving for junior kindergarten, I self taught myself to balance on the bike. I started at the top of our small slanted driveway and kept my feet off the pedals and close to the ground to save me from falling. I’d do it again and again each morning for a week for roughly ten minutes. I slowly started to get used to it and found the courage to make it to the big hill. When I found the courage to ride the big hill, I could do without wiping out. This was what freedom felt like and I loved it.adored my bicycle with banana seats and pedal brakes.
I adored my bicycle with its banana seat and pedal brakes. I rode it to school and on family bike rides. It became a part of me until one day I rode it to a summer camp going on at my school. When camp let out for the day and I went to unlock my bike from the rack, the bike was smashed up into tiny bits and pieces. The chain still locked on the bike. I start to cry. The camp counselors came out shocked to see my bicycle all smashed up. They called the police. The next day the Toronto Star came and interviewed me.
BMX bikes
A few of my neighbours were riding BMX bikes. They looked almost as fun to ride as my first bike. After much begging and chore work, I finally got one for my birthday. Once again I was riding it around but I never had enough trust to leave it locked at school. It was not until I was 14 that I finally got a good road bike. That road bike lasted me through university. I eventually got over my fear of it being vandalized and rode it to anywhere I needed to go. It was faster than the TTC. It was cheaper than driving. It was fun and I was always able to clear my mind as I rode from destination to destination.
I discovered more of Toronto as cyclist
When I graduated from university, I wanted to go back to the upright position I had from my first bike. I bought my first mountain bike, a Norco Bush Pilot. I moved downtown and that became my sole transportation. I discovered more of Toronto while becoming a more confident city cyclist.
I rekindled my love for cycling
Later my mother bought me a Gary Fisher Tassajara as a gift . Once you start riding a lighter bike with much better components, you never want to go back.
I’d ride my bike down to union station
I was working a job for 4 months in Burlington. Every morning at 6 am, I’d ride an old replacement bike my dad lent me down to union station and grab the GO train. It was a long commute but the bike ride made the beginning and end of each day a bit more hopeful. One morning, I went out to find that someone had slashed my tires. That afternoon I went to the bike shop and bought tires for it. The next morning I went out ready to go to union station and the bike was gone and once again the broken lock left on the ground. my first ride with that bike I rekindled my love for cycling. I had finally moved on from the loss of my banana seat bike. I rode it up the toughest hills without any strain. Bicycling not only became fun it became a sport I started to excel at. When I rode to get from A to B, it became a race every time to see how I could get there faster. One day I had to run home to pick something up before I biked to my next destination. Fifteen minutes later, I found the lock had been cut and the bike was gone. That same feeling of loss hit me and tears rolled down my eyes. This time there were no nice counselors feeling sorry for me this time, just an officer at the other end of the phone line taking down the information telling me to give up hope of ever getting it back.
TTC pass user for four months
I lost faith in owning bikes long term in Toronto. I got a TTC pass and became a pass user for four months. It was depressing. I wasn’t getting used to waiting for the bus. I couldn’t stand being stuck on a crowded subway underground. I was miserable but also too scared to trust owning a bike again. I saw a bunch of used bikes being sold at a store I was passing by including a Thin Blue Line. I took it for a test ride and bought it on the spot. The first thing I told myself when I bought that bike was to never get attached to it. I’ve learned to appreciate every moment I’m able to ride that bike and I still have it ten years later.
Leehe is the founder of Whole Self Fitness.She is a certified Personal Trainer and Nutrition and Wellness Coach. She goes on-site to help people achieve their fitness goals. Leehe is an avid swimmer and ardent cyclist,
When she’s not working she can be found at farmers’ markets, taking an art class or journalling in the park. To keep up with her wellness writing visit: wholeselfwrites.blogspot.com and her artistic pursuits at leehelev.com.
Leehe is passionete for a clean and peaceful planet has her helping out various environmental action organizations. She is a proud member and volunteer of Green Enterprise Toronto, Toronto Bicycle Union. and Green Neighbours 21
