In the words of Dave Gorman, "what you need here is a graph", so here's my flying over ten years.
1st six months is PPL, then minimum hours for four years renting 152's and occasionally an Archer. Took a break from flying for two years then back in the saddle in '03 I spent a year getting checked out in various types (including SuperCub) before buying a share in a seriously under-utilised PA28. Have never looked back.