Learning to ride a bike as an adult?

[Setz]

I never got the hang of riding a bike as a kid (except with training wheels of course ), and I haven't rode in maybe 12-13 years. I just moved to the middle of nowhere, and the nearest Tim Hortons is perhaps a 40-50 minute walk. So I've decided upon myself to buy a bike and learn how to ride.

I've heard from many sources it's much more difficult for an adult to learn than a child, and to be quite frank I'm kind of embarrassed to practice on my own street because the inevitable falls will surely impact my "image" .

Are there any province wide associations I could call to get lessons, or any general advice I could get?

[TapemanPL]

i've taught a few older people how to ride very successfully...within a few hours they were already zooming up and down the street...
basically first sit on the bike and just push yourself for a while letting your feet hang to try and balance the bike, once you get that down try pedaling, if you can't balance and pedal at the same time try pedaling slowly with someone helping you balance...after that we were done so i don't know what to do if that doesn't work

[sexpuppet6000]

paying to learn how to ride a bike?

[Kasakato]

Start with the correct procedure: http://sheldonbrown.com/starting.html
Then you can move into balance.

[corrupt123]

TapemanPL's advice is actually very good. I was/am in Munich, and over here things are a lot different. I don't think tricycles even exist - instead, the kids all ride around on these wooden bikes that have no pedals. The idea is that the bike/seat is situated low enough for the kids feet to easily reach the ground, and they just push themselves along.

This works really well because their feet are there to support them if they're falling, and they push themselves forward with their feet too. I'd imagine you pickup balance pretty quickly using this method.

I'd say this is probably your best route, and I doubt you'll fall very much. If you've got some tools, you could pop the pedals off of your bike just to make things a little easier - though I'm sure you could still do it with them on.

Good luck!

[Piccolo]

I know how to ride a bike, but I am not comfortable riding on the streets in toronto with the traffic (I stick to the bike paths). I have had a few people tell me to check out "CanBike". http://www.toronto.ca/cycling/canbike/canbike.htm

Maybe Niagara Falls area has something like that?

[UrbanPoet]

i learned how to ride a bike in grade 9.
What i did was sit on the bike... Then roll down a small hill trying to balance.. if i feel like i lose balance, i jam the brakes and put my feet down to bail myself out.

After a while you get a hang of how to balance a bike... now all you gotta do is peddle =)

[almostfreeman]

Just get on it and ride the ******* thing If you fall off , pick yourself up and try again until you get it right.

That's the way most of us learned I'm sure. Unless you have a very poor sense of balance and find that you fall down while standing or walking there is no reason you can't ride a bike. Fear is the only thing keeping you from doing something that you want to do. Some fear is justified since we heal more slowly from injuries as we get older; so try not to fall too much or too hard. Maybe get some gloves and elbow, knee pads until you are feeling more confident.

IMO it is well worth it to learn to ride a bike. The pleasure (and health benefit) you will receive from riding a bike outweigh the potential risks. Make sure you get a helmet, obey traffic rules and practice "defensive cycling". It's really not that hard to ride a bike once you get your balance the rest will come. Chances are it won't hurt that much if you make a mistake or two while learning.

Good Luck!

[alv077]

I think the most important thing to do is not to hesitate and try to go slowly...

It's insanely hard to keep balance if you ride slowly... easy if you go quickly right away...

[UrbanPoet]

yeah... and dont sweat it.
Everyone has first time anxiety when it comes to mobility devices. Im sure when most people learned to drive they had anxiety... they made wide turns, and once and a while had to jam their brakes b/c they didnt notice something..

same with bikes!

[deep]

One natural inclination we have is to go slowly until we "get" something. This will hurt you while learning how to ride, as the stability of a bike increases greatly with increased speed.

I like the idea of using your feet and not the pedals to get going, but it may be difficult to balance at first, as the low speed will hurt you in that respect. I would switch to pedalling as soon as possible in order to take advantage of the additional stability.

[alcaatwork]

search for the word "Adult" at this link:

http://www.nowtoronto.com/news/story.cfm?content=162562

[doggy]

i love biking.

OP, just use tapemans' advice. Push yourself along with your feet and lifting your feet off the ground when you get a good speed/balance. Just dont turn too tight, or lean too much when doing this or you may fall, though you shouldnt because you have feet that are less than a foot off the ground.

Once you are able to push yourself along with your feet in the air, try pedaling slowly, then when you pick up speed, learn to maintain that speed and braking appropriately. Do not apply your front brake too hard when goign to fast or else you may throw yourself over the handle bars . you should also use an open space so that you arent constantly thinking of things you may bump into. Biking really becomes second nature once you learn it and is really worth the embarrassment to be able to bike in the future.

just take it at your speed and stay determined. It truly becomes second nature because all im thinking when on a bike is to pedal, the bike essentially balances itself. just dont be afraid to speed up or to brake

[Setz]

i love biking.

OP, just use tapemans' advice. Push yourself along with your feet and lifting your feet off the ground when you get a good speed/balance. Just dont turn too tight, or lean too much when doing this or you may fall, though you shouldnt because you have feet that are less than a foot off the ground.

Once you are able to push yourself along with your feet in the air, try pedaling slowly, then when you pick up speed, learn to maintain that speed and braking appropriately. Do not apply your front brake too hard when goign to fast or else you may throw yourself over the handle bars . you should also use an open space so that you arent constantly thinking of things you may bump into. Biking really becomes second nature once you learn it and is really worth the embarrassment to be able to bike in the future.

just take it at your speed and stay determined. It truly becomes second nature because all im thinking when on a bike is to pedal, the bike essentially balances itself. just dont be afraid to speed up or to brake

I think the hardest part for me will be turning and braking. In my experience with biking when I was a kid (again, with training wheels ), as soon as you backpedal, it's an immediate stop. Perhaps it was the bike I was using, but I would imagine if I'm going at Mach 2 and decide to break by backpedaling, I'm afraid I won't be posting here anymore.

[sk1nnywallet]

The faster you go the easier it is to keep balance - this is just the physics of rotating wheels. If you go slow it will be harder to keep your balance.