Well, I was about 6 years old and I had been riding my first bike for about a year.  We were living in a small town in N.H. called Conway.  We had a driveway that was about 100 ft. long to the main road and was two cars wide.  My younger brother was on his bike with training wheels and was taunting me and saying that I couldn't ride my bike without my hands, and of course, I said that I could.

Sooooo, our parents were home along with my Dad's sister Kathy and they parked both their cars along the right side of the driveway leaving about 80 ft. from the road to the rear bumper of my Aunt Kathy's car.  This left the entire left side free for us to drive our bikes.  This is where the fun begins.  Kids, don't try this at home.  I grabbed the handlebars and whipped the bike into a tight corner and headed toward the end of the driveway with all the power my legs could muster.  As I neared the end of the driveway I pulled another quick u-turn at the road and began my final run for the day back toward the cars parked in the driveway.  i peddled harder and harder gaining speed with each crank of the single gear bike.  I got to the point where i was stable and the wind began to whisk my hair back.  I looked to my left and saw my brother sitting on his bike with a big smile on his face waiting for me to let go of the handlebars.  i let go of the handlebars and felt the greatness of riding without my hands.  i leaned back and rode upright and at the same time I looked at my brother and yelled to him, "See, I CAN ride without my...." WHACK!  In a split second, I felt the front tire of my bike wedge under the rear bumper of my Aunt's Chevette.  My body followed the momentum of the bike seat which ejected me immediately toward the front and over the handlebars, and then my face hit and blasted through the rear hatchback window of her Chevette.  The entire rear windshield shattered and I put my entire head up to my shoulders through the glass.  I rebounded back and landed on the seat of my bike and couldn't believe I landed back with my feet on the peddles.  The only thing that I hurt was a gash on my lip that went about a half an inch that needed stitches from the E.R. doctor later that night.  My brother couldn't believe what had happened and said, "Oh man, You're gonna be in trouble now."  I couldn't even process what had happened before my parents were by my side with a washcloth filled with ice and we were piling into the car to head to the hospital.  I guess it must have made quite a noise from inside the house where they all were.  All I know is that I was very thankful that I didn't have any other cuts on my face or head than what I did.  Unbelievable I know, but that's the way it happened.  How I was allowed to ride a bike again, I don't know.

There are no lessons for this story other than to always look where you're going, especially when you're trying to show off to your younger brother.  By the way, he loved that it happened to me and not him...even to this day he laughs about it.

JC