for me it was being banned of the school buses for selling some stolen matches to a diCk who then set fire to the back seat of the bus then getting me involved with the headmaster it was the best and the worst thing that ive ever done so started riding to school for 4 years then carried on from there.. 
how about you?
My wife met a woman at an NCT class whose husband liked mtbing, I met him at the gym to say hello, bought a cheap raleigh and went riding, enjoyed it so much. And that was it.
I was fed up walking past Derry Lodge
Not sure I've always done it from aged four when I got my first bike and never really stopped 
Watching Greg Lemond win the 89 tour was a big motivator.
Cycling up Greenwich Observatory's grassy climb on a friend's brand new Diamond Back Apex that same year made me realise MTBs were worth a try.
I bought some stolen matches and got grassed up to the headmaster after setting fire to the back seat on the school bus.
trying a Giant ATX990 (with 'long travel' plates) 'DH' bike
Stress, i needed an outlet for my tension and a way to relax, brought a bike for canals, a Trek 6500, Brought WMTB one month and saw a trail at cannock, thought why not give it a go. Not stoppped since and that was 6 years ago.
evil knievel
My folks always rode to get to work so I had to ride to get to school once I was at secondary. Never enjoyed it until a friend got a Townsend mtb in '88 and ragging that around the wasteground at the back of his house opened my eyes to the possibilities. Never looked back. Thank you Alex!
Big boys made me do it.
Alfasud engine blew up, mate towed me to a scrappy back in the days when dead cars had value, walked away from there with £350 and into the nearest bike shop, bike + helmet + lights + lock. Rode 6 miles home, nearly killed me. That was about 20 years ago.
dunno don't remember learning.
Been into bikes all my life.
Started as a nipper on MX bikes and been into most types of bike ever since.
Schoolboy MX had only just started then BMX came along then MTB's finaly started appearing and kind of took over from the motorised side of things for me.
needed a new back wheel for my school bike, went out of town on the bus to a "better" shop that the local one, bought MBUK for the bus journey, was the issue with the Gold Kona Misser with Z1 bombers on - 1995/96 probably?
In the 60s a bike was a real item of desire for boys, up there with Jags, trains and rockets. So I put pocket money down each week for a new Dawes.
The owner of the shop also ran a pro rider and was matey with the big names of the day. So when I put the final payment down as a reward he gave me Nigel Deans old race wheels. Campag hubs, Fiamme rims and Clement tubs, I can't tell you how much of a big deal that was. He then put me in touch with a well known local roadman called 'Gino' Goddard. I joined a club that winter and was racing by Spring.....that was how it started for me
Needed some aerobic fitness. Coming from MX and Enduro a mountainbike seemed a less dull option than running. Then it became social and competitive. Can't say I particularly enjoy the cycling bit if I'm honest. The rest is all good though.
Got to the point on the superbikes where we thought we'd either end up in jail or dead - so needed to find another 2-wheel 'outlet'.
Got to the point on the superbikes where we thought we'd either end up in jail or dead
oh bollox 
For the young'uns I give you Nigel Dean. Holdsworth pro.
Loving Taka's story!
I was 16, wanted a 'proper bike', and these new-fangled 'mountain bikes' were all the rage. Purple splatter Raleigh Mustang; 15 gears, chunky 1.85" tyres, the ability to go beyond where other bikes could. Even though it mainly got used pootling around the streets of London Town.
Best £180 I've ever spent, I'd say.
evil knievel
a 4-5yr old in bermondsey, kemsing house. rode off on my brothers bike and was hooked ever since. never had stabilisers ever 
Was sick of riding Tally's seconds 
so he made me get own bike.
His fault I waste so much money.
Always loved bikes. Remember learning to ride on a raleigh kite and going 'scrambling' down the lane next to our house. When i got my first proper mountain bike years later it all made sense. BMX, road, mtb whatever, just turning the pedals and being out there is what matters.
Around 2003, personal circumstances meant I had to give up my Munros campaign and travelling to go camping and hillwalking. Local walking was just not exciting or varied enough by comparison.
Although not a keen cyclist, I'd dabbled with off-road cycling since the mid-nineties and realized there was plenty of scope locally for developing it into an exciting pastime. It's been a mainstay of my life ever since. Very occasionally, I get to go biking out of the local area too.
Always ridden push bikes since I was a kid, the quickest way to get around.
Never stopped really... hopefully I never will
Getting the stabilisers off, such a buzz
Same reason I started smoking, drinking to excess, smoking weed, doing acid...........
I thought it'd make me cool as f*ck
It didn't, nor did the others, but 20 years on I just can't shake the habit......
Whilst looking up Nigel Dean I found a picture of Gino Goddard the guy that got me racing, and John MacMillan the bike shops pro rider. They're still at it and this is from the Grand Prix Des Gentleman 2010.
And I also noticed that the old boy I ride with on occasions was a pro rider for Holdsworth in the 60's. If only I'd known of the company I was in back then
And both in my old clubs colours.
I grew up in a village 5 miles from the nearest town, the only way to get there was to ride my bike. I had a British Eagle Domo. It was rubbish but I loved it.
Motorbikes
When I moved to London I sold them all(motocross and enduro bikes mainly ) ,then thought I would try this new ATB thing.
24 years later and I am still hooked.
At it's best there is nothing to touch it.
Had a tricycle when i was 2ish and then it just sort of evolved, raleigh boxer, Striker, Arena, Burner, DP Freestyler, a really bad Townsend MTB, Pulsar, Pusuit which I still have as my singlespeed commute now and many many more...
Learned to ride without stabilisers aged 2, been on two wheels ever since.
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