Few people can forget the first moments of mastering the skill ... a bit shaky at first, then away with the breeze in yourhair and a huge smile on your face.
But for so many children – and adults – learning to ride a bike is a traumatic ratherthan an enjoyable experience.
Too often, Mum and Dad push too hard - often literally - and little Johnny learns, perhaps for the first time, not to trust his parents too much as they promise to hold on... then let go, with usually predictable results.
Sometimes children miss out altogether and cycling, like swimming, can beembarrassing to learn as an adult.
Mums and dads may like to look out for an older cycle on which toteach a child. Well-made bikes from the 1960s and 1970s often had shorter cranks anda better geometry for children. However, watch for cycles which are rusty: they may have rust inside the tubes, which make them dangerous.
An alternative is to buy the Islabikes Rothan well in advance of trying to teach a child to ride. The Rothan has no pedals but allows the child to get used to hobby-horsing on the flat. Islabikes also makes the original Trailerbike, which are superb for getting children used to cycling around town and country.
The method below is probably the best way to show anyone how to ride.
1 Ensure the learner can touch the ground, preferably flat footed. Remove any stabilisers. Take the pedals off the bike, remembering the left-hand pedal has a reversethread and should be unscrewed clockwise. Pop the pedals and spanner in a carrierbag to take with you. Note that the pedals are marked L and R for left and right, usually near the thread.
2 Find a quiet, flat area in which to practise. Get the learner to "hobby horse" the bike– basically walking with the bike beneath – treating it like one of the early walkingmachines that developed into today's cycle. Show him or her the brakes and make sure they can use them.
3 Find a slight slope preferably with a grassy area at the bottom. Encourage the learner to go up nine or ten feet and then hobby horse down. If they pick up enough speed,get them to lift their feet clear of the cranks. Try this several times, increasing thedistance the learner travels.
4 When the learner is happy with Step 3, fit the pedals back on to the bike (rememberthat reverse thread!). Let them go back up the slope and repeat Step 3, asking them torest their feet on the pedals the first time, then spin the pedals gently.
5 Usually by this stage, the learner will be away - and it is just a question of gainingconfidence. don't forget that starting off on the flat will be a new experience. Show thelearner how to lift the right or left pedal to the one o'clock position and push off; compared with balancing, this trick is usually easily mastered.
