How did you learn to ride?

[dantama]

In another thread Caddmann posted:

Originally Posted by caddmannq

I started riding as a kid in the late 60's, so I just got grandfathered in. We didn't have any of that fancy sh*t. We just rode until we fell off, and then picked it up and said "Well, I'll never do it like that again!" Eventually we learned to ride.

That got me wondering how everyone learned to ride. I know that some of the newer riders had it better and MSF was around to teach them, but whether it was MSF, or otherwise, how did you learn to ride?

I learned at about 12-13 from friends. I grew up in a semi rural area and the kids with $$$ had dirt bikes at a young age. I learned to ride from other kids in an orchard and gravel pit. It wasn't the best environment, trees, fences, ditches, etc. but I survived it. Two stroke dirt bikes might not be the easiest machines to learn how to use a clutch either.

By the time I had a street bike in high school, how to physically operate a bike was no problem at all from my experience in the dirt (I bought a Honda XL 250 when I was 14 ). No body told me about everything that you need to watch out for in traffic and such, but I survived it.

I know that there are a lot more options now that are much more conducive to staying alive, how did you learn to ride?