Learning How to Ride a Bicycle… As an Adult (Part I)
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June 2, 2008
The First Step: Getting on the Saddle.
Continuing from yesterday: A good friend of mine was enthusiastic and prolly, seeing her enthusiasm to teach me helped lessen the dampers I later got. To hear, “I can’t fathom an adult learning how to ride a bike…” it’s much easier to confront that with, “Well. I did.” Anyways, my friend grew up in Davis, CA and if you’ve ever been there, you know that bikes rule. On a side note, I wonder if freshmen to be step onto the campus, see what goes on and conclude, “When in Rome, it’s time to finally learn to ride the darn thing.”
So with the car equipped with the bike — I drove the car and my friend to Crissy Field.
First Priorities: Balancing on the Bicycle’s Saddle and Braking
Without training wheels, I instinctively put the saddle all the way down so that I could sit on it with my feet touching the ground.
And the moment of truth: I pushed off with my feet. For a few inches, it felt exhilarating. And it felt safe with my feet there to catch me for balance. Feeling encouraged, I tried to find the pedals but, I couldn’t find the pedals for a few minutes. For the next half hour, it was a mix of finding them and not finding them but, so long as my feet could find the ground, I was still safe. At some point during this hour, I realized, this was a good time to practice braking.
My friend was right beside me, encouraging me that since I was getting braking down, going faster meant an easier time with balance. Within the next few hours, two feet without putting my feet down turned into five feet, turned into 10 feet turned into small distances where she’d run a fifty yards ahead1 and I’d catch up to her.
By then, I could find the pedals without looking down however, keeping my feet on the pedals was a challenge. Unexpected bumps would throw my feet off them and it would take me a few moments before finding them again. It wasn’t until I did some googling on pedaling technique did I learn the importance of a making sure your feet move in a circular motion and not a downward motion.
Looking Forward: The Need for a Class
After it all, looking back on the day, I thought that maybe a class would help. I could teach myself and learn from my mistakes but, as the saying which I quoted yesterday goes: “And smart people learn from other people’s mistakes.” I could put myself into a setting where people were making mistakes that I might be making and didn’t know it and there would be coaches there who would have seen it all and can pass on their wisdom before we make the same mistakes.
So stay tuned tomorrow as I go over tricky things like mounting, dismounting, shifting gears and riding a straight line while looking backwards and making hand signals.
—
- She left her bike back home in Davis.
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The Next Step: A Class. Continued from previous where I talked about my first steps strides on a bike. Realizing that I was going to hit a wall teaching myself with tips from one generous friend. I sought out a class. [...]