Teaching "old" woman to ride a bicycle

JHG

A coworker of mine (in her 50´s) has newer learnt to ride a bike but wants to. Are there some training wheels for grown ups?

gjp112n

JHG wrote:

A coworker of mine (in her 50´s) has newer learnt to ride a bike but wants to. Are there some training wheels for grown ups?

I don't know about training wheels, but speaking as somebody who is never learnt to ride until I was over fifty, I'd say pick somewhere away from traffic to practive and just get on with it !

redvee

There are some about on the market though they are more usually used for disabled adults wishing to learn to ride.

Cunobelin

Treat her like a kid!

Seriously!

The Ballantine trick of staging the experience works as well for adults.

Find somewhere quiet and free of an audince

Remove pedals and lower seat.

Ride hobby horse like.
As experience and confidence grows move to coasting down slight hills
Now replace pedals as foot rests

Using the pedals will come naturally.

Works every time and will only take an hour or so!

helsbels

You could tell her to get some lessons from a trainer - about £25 per hour for a private lesson and about 45 minutes should see her riding - just as cheap as the stabilisers!

The CTC's webisite or her local authorities Cycling Officer have a list of cycle trainers that can help her - or ask in her LBS.

bonk man

Sounds familiar..... just trying to get the wife to ride a bike.... dear oh dear...... she rides like an old woman, well slower and dangerously.

The main thing is getting the speed up as the bike becomes more stable but it is difficult to convince the frightened.

I would agree with the hobby horse technique, and one of our bike shops would try not to sell stabilisers and convince sceptical parents that this was the safest way..

I think that cycling has to be fun fun fun first of all. All that health benefit and money saving stuff comes later but the enjoyment of the experience should come first so pedalling [ or hobby horsing ] round the park when the sun is shining is the way to go. Thats what I am doing with the wife, pottering about of the common and it is softer when she [inevitably] crashes.

spike666

As a national standards cycle trainer I tend to use the hobby-horse method most of the time. One or two things :P to try also -
Look for a gentle preferably grass slope to let mother nature take the fall and gravity assist in rolling along and building speed.
Most of all tell you coworker to take her grown up head and leave it at home then come out to play with a ten year olds head on. That way it turns into fun for both trainer and trainee.
Have fun. :P