{"id":25791,"date":"2014-12-22T16:09:10","date_gmt":"2014-12-22T15:09:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/?p=25791"},"modified":"2014-12-22T16:09:10","modified_gmt":"2014-12-22T15:09:10","slug":"first-bicycle-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Her first bicycle at Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. Like any good uncle I can\u2019t remember exactly how old she was, but I knew this bike would rock her world. She was six at the time. Or maybe seven.<\/strong><\/p>\n

As her grandparents led her into the garage for the grand unveiling in 2010, my excitement grew along with my niece\u2019s. She had never received a present so big before in her life, let alone been into her grandparent\u2019s garage on Christmas day to find a mysterious object draped in a sheet. I guess she was excited because the bigger the present the better it must be. But now I wonder why I was so excited? Was I reminded of my first taste of cycling freedom? Or was it that I\u2019d recently finished reading a book by the polemic feminist Germaine Greer?<\/p>\n

Bikes were always important for women<\/h2>\n

Women\u2019s suffrage campaigner Susan B Anthony said in 1896 that cycling had, \u201cdone more to emancipate women than anything else in the world\u201d. When the bicycle became affordable, women were enthusiastic early adopters. This is something my niece will come to understand. When my niece\u2019s bike was dramatically unveiled she clearly didn\u2019t care about how she got the right to vote. She simply grabbed at the handle bars, yelped, and tried to jump on while my sister and her husband gently restrained her.<\/p>\n

\"Suffragettes<\/a>
\nPhoto: Profimedia.cz<\/em><\/p>\n

With this great bicycle came great responsibilities which were systematically laid down for her on Christmas day by her parents. And her grandmother. Especially her grandmother. My niece was told that she must have safety equipment. A helmet.\u00a0 Some knee pads and some elbow pads. And the appropriate clothing for a winter ride.<\/p>\n

So while my niece was dressed and lectured and heavily armoured by her family of squires she could barely tear her gaze from her bicycle. She impatiently willed herself towards her bicycle through the throng of worrying hands.\u00a0 It was almost as if her rampant enthusiasm caused her family some concern.<\/p>\n

\"Grandmother<\/a>
\nPhoto: Profimedia.cz<\/em><\/p>\n

Do you remember your first bike? They have changed significantly over the decades but only one of them can be your first. Lets have a quick look into history of \u2018first\u2019 bikes in our video.<\/p>\nwatch my first bike video<\/a>\n

Tool of freedom with huge fun factor<\/h2>\n

The author Christopher Hitchens said that the only known cure for poverty is, \u201cthe empowerment of women and their emancipation\u201d. The bicycle was the symbol of rebellion and protest, and it became synonymous with women\u2019s rights, suffrage, and emancipation. Just as women used the bicycle as the vehicle to manufacture their freedom, I\u2019m certain that my niece will use cycling to manufacture her own. So my brother and I were left to look after her as she cycled up and down the street at an impressively high cadence for a six or seven year old.<\/p>\n

\"Cute<\/a>
\nPhoto: Profimedia.cz<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019d like to say it was a beautifully magical Christmas experience, but the truth is that it was freezing, and my brother and I had taken a couple of sherries. My niece wasn\u2019t impressed that we interrupted her buzz to return to our own festivities. So I\u2019d like to think, in a Christmas toast to Susan B Anthony, that on Christmas day 2010 the flame of freedom and rebellion was ignited in my niece\u2019s heart as she glared at her killjoy uncles dragging her inside.<\/p>\n

And the conclusion?<\/h2>\n

I asked my niece for a quote on how cycling made her feel that Christmas. She told me, \u201cvery, very, very, good\u201d. I wondered if her younger brother felt any differently about his first proper bike, and he said it made him feel, \u201cum\u2026 good\u2026\u201d. So there you have it – evidence that cycling means more to women than it does to men.<\/p>\n

Don‘<\/span>t forget that you can still win wonderful prizes in our Then and Now contest<\/a>! Just find your old cycling photo, recreate it, upload it and share for a chance to win one of our great packages!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":25792,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[334,330],"tags":[],"global-categories":[],"class_list":["post-25791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-socialising-and-culture","category-urban-cycling"],"yoast_head":"\nHer first bicycle at Christmas - \u0160koda We Love Cycling<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. Like any good uncle I can\u2019t remember\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Her first bicycle at Christmas\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. Like any good uncle I can\u2019t remember\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-12-22T15:09:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"525\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Christopher Ashley\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/\",\"name\":\"Her first bicycle at Christmas - \u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2014-12-22T15:09:10+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"\"},\"description\":\"Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. Like any good uncle I can\u2019t remember\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp\",\"width\":525,\"height\":350},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Her first bicycle at Christmas\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/\",\"name\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling\",\"description\":\"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine\",\"alternateName\":\"\u0160koda WLC\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Her first bicycle at Christmas - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. Like any good uncle I can\u2019t remember","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Her first bicycle at Christmas","og_description":"Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. Like any good uncle I can\u2019t remember","og_url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/","og_site_name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","article_published_time":"2014-12-22T15:09:10+00:00","og_image":[{"width":525,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp","type":"image\/webp"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Christopher Ashley","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/","name":"Her first bicycle at Christmas - \u0160koda We Love Cycling","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp","datePublished":"2014-12-22T15:09:10+00:00","author":{"@id":""},"description":"Being a cycle advocate I was excited to learn that my niece was getting her first proper bicycle for Christmas. Like any good uncle I can\u2019t remember","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/d2p6e6u75xmxt8.cloudfront.net\/2\/2014\/12\/opener6.webp","width":525,"height":350},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/2014\/12\/22\/first-bicycle-christmas\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Her first bicycle at Christmas"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/","name":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling","description":"\u0160koda We Love Cycling magazine","alternateName":"\u0160koda WLC","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"","url":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/author\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25791"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25797,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25791\/revisions\/25797"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25792"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25791"},{"taxonomy":"global-categories","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.welovecycling.com\/wide\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/global-categories?post=25791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}