Riding a bike for the first time - aged 55

[Oneeyedvic]

My wife has never riden a bike and I know she would like to. However, she is terrified of falling off and breaking something / hurting herself.

Can you get stabilisers for adults?

Any tips on what to do / how to do it?

Obviously she doesn't want to look silly in the park riding a bike with stabilisers on!

[stoo_pid]

My wife is exactly the same. I have discovered that it is much more difficult teaching an adult to ride a bike than a child! I've yet to find any stabilisers for adults so we've had to resort to free-wheeling down any gentle slope we can find (me running alongside holding the saddle at first & then letting go). Unfortunately, even though Mrs Pid enjoys it, we haven't got very far with that method, partly due to lack of gentle slope but mainly due to the embarrassment factor.

If you haven't done so already, I would recommend contacting your nearest cycle group & also check if the council have a cycling officer. We're lucky enough to have a council that have occasional courses teaching adults to ride from scratch - once Pid Junior is a little older we'll be signing up.

[whiffey]

A really good place to learn to ride is the local cemetery. Very few people go there so you don't get an audience. Have you got a lady's bike ? If not a small frame, maybe 17 inch, so she can slide forward off the saddle quickly without hurting herself.

I use clip pedals now (SPD) and had to practice for a while in the cemetery because I kept falling off !

[Oneeyedvic]

Cheers good people. I don't actually have a bike for her but am going to start looking. I noticed tescos have got some in at �60 which doesn't seem too bad (obviously may not get a lot of use so don't want to spend much). May get a second hand one instead though.

Will call the council later today and good tip about cemetery.

Cheers again (and any more thoughts welcome)

[stanleyman]

Have you thought about getting her a three wheeler?

[Fat Boy]

Think these are what you're looking for:

There's also a useful article here giving some tips - it's aimed predominantly at teaching kids to ride but no reason you can't apply the same to an adult.

[Ethel]

There are places where you can hire tandems to ride around cycle paths in the country.

This might help your wife get the feel of cycling whilst allowing you to be in control.

I think it's wonderful that she's willing to give it a go. Good luck to her!

[Dom Tuk]

Do it on a holiday. You can always hire bikes and if it is a relatively remote place then there will be no one to see you. Even if they do...they are only foreigners. Make sure you got all the knee and elbow pads. Both my mum and dad cannot cycle....ther are in their 80s so doubt if they will start now.

[alfiebrady]

If she really wants to ride, the suggestions above regarding a quiet, safe space are pretty good. A bumpy bit of grass might look safer to fall on, but won't help her to move along. Tarmac can be pretty nasty to fall on. Get some jeans, gloves and sturdy trainers. Not sure about the slope idea. Any chance you can find an indoor space where the floor isn't too slippy?

For starters, try lowering the seat 1) so she can put her feet down to stop herself falling 2) so she can get good purchase on the ground with her feet and ask her to propel herself on the bike at a safe pace. You need to get some speed up to get stability. Get her to put her feet up on the pedals and coast along, maybe making some turns (feet up out of the way!). Once she's happy with that, you can progress to pedalling - you'll need to raise the seat back towards the proper height for your wife to make pedalling easy.
If she's going to be riding in traffic eventually, she needs to be confident enough to be able to look around.

Best of luck!

[funkymoped]

there is a bike shop local to us that sells standard bikes that have been converted to three wheelers.

its a simple conversion, but quite expensive. an alternative would be a tandem.

have seen bikes in europe that are rode side by side. again a simple conversion

if she has the use of a bike, make the seat low enough for her to put both feet flat on the ground. its not the perfect riding hight but it will offer more control if she begins to loose her balance. as with other learning processes, dont force her into anything... just let her set her own pace...

[mimififi]

you could try seeing if there is anywhere you could hire a tandem cycle from, this might give her extra confidence and noone who sees you will know that she is a learner.

Also, in switzerland when children are learning they do not have stabilisers, they have bicylces with no pedals. They then just scoot them along with their feet until the feel comfortable enough with the balance and the handling of it. It means that you don't need a slope all the time, you can just push your self along and obviously, gradually you coast for longer and longer without putting your feet down. maybe a cycle with the pedals removed might be good for an introduction.

good luck with it.

p.s and don't forget the helmet. Safety gear might also make her feel more confident as if she does fall, she won't be so hurt.