That first bike

My first bike/Janine Rood

I got my first bike for Christmas when I was 5. It was very red and came with training wheels. But they were set too high, so it stayed in the garage. A year later I took it out without the training wheels and got on it and rode. It was great! It was like flying! I never looked back. I now have at least 10 bikes. My go-to bike is my Cervélo R3SL road bike. I ride 10 to 15 hours a week, between commuting and mountain biking and all that. I intend to ride until I can’t ride anymore. It’s a lifelong sport.

Janine Rood is executive director of the Chico Velo Cycling Club.

My first bike/Budd Schwab

It was a Schwinn Continental. I was making C’s and D’s in school, and my parents said if I got A’s and B’s and washed the dishes every night for a year, they’d buy me a bike. I had the cleanest hands in school [laughs]. The Continental was the best bike on the Schwinn dealer’s floor. I was in eighth grade at the time, and we’d just moved to California from Kentucky, where nobody rode bikes.

Budd Schwab is co-owner of Campus Bicycles.

My first bike/Stacy Canada

Does a Cabbage Patch Big Wheel count? Actually, I learned on my older sister’s bike, a hot-pink and lime-green Huffy. My first real bike was a mountain bike, a red Univega that I rode everywhere, until it got stolen. Today I have two bikes, one a Specialized hybrid, the other a Felt road bike. I absolutely love [the Felt]. I commute to work and school every day, and I usually get on my road bike one to three times a week.

Stacy Canada is assistant sustainability coordinator for the Associated Students and events coordinator for Chico Velo.

My first bike/Dan Cernuda

It was 1968, and it was a Schwinn Collegiate, a five-speed. I was 12 and saved my own money and bought it. I wanted a Varsity 10-speed in the worst way, but my parents didn’t approve. “What do you need 10 speeds for?” they said. The Collegiate was wonderful, though. It gave me a little bit of independence. I basically rode that all through grade school and high school. Right now I’ve got a Surly Long Haul Trucker. It’s a great commuter bike.

“Bicycle Dan” Cernuda is head mechanic at Pullins Cyclery.