How did Roald Dahl remember the bicycle incident?

The theme of adventure arises as Dahl details the earliest experiences he can recall. The image of a boy riding a bicycle without holding the handlebars is seared into Dahl’s memory. He fantasizes about having the same freedom as the boy, the same adventure of sailing down a hill with the wind in his hair. Although Dahl doesn’t speculate on why the memory is so important, it carries symbolic weight. By the end of the book, Dahl will have become a fighter pilot, fulfilling a love of adventure that may have been ignited by the sight of the cycling boy.