Clydesdales/Athenas (200+ lb / 91+ kg) - Maybe OT: Teaching an adult to ride

Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.



PDA
Neil_B
07-01-10, 10:01 AM
A pretty good account of how to teach an adult to ride a bike. I taught a Clydesdale how to ride a couple of years ago, and I'm pleased to see I've used the 'approved' method.

http://overthebarsinmilwaukee.wordpress.com/2010/06/21/learning-to-ride-a-bike/

BTW, my own learning 'crash course' was a little different. I didn't lower the saddle or remove the pedals when I learned to ride. It probably would have been better if I did at first. I might have missed the mailbox. :lol:

Seattle Forrest
07-01-10, 10:21 AM
What a happy story! The grin on the guy's face because he's riding a bike for the first time in his life is by far the best thing I've seen today. I don't think I'll be teaching any adults to ride a bike in the near future, so I'll keep the technique in mind if that changes, but I thought this was very cool.
Neil_B
07-01-10, 10:37 AM
My own turn as a cycling instructor:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?429747-Paying-it-Forward&highlight=teaching+adult

My student, who last I heard was riding regularly down in Philly. This photo is from a bridge on the Perkiomen Trail. Jude was impressed by the fact I could ride in a straight line and turn my head. I let him in on the secret, and he was doing it too by the end.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3015/2661975351_8bdca7b7d3_b.jpg

I couldn't stop him!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2661978669_a9049ac052_b.jpg

Pamestique
07-01-10, 01:32 PM
I knew this older gentleman who wanted to learn to mountain bike. He was naturalist and thought if on a bicycle could go further down the trail to look at birds and flowers. I agreed to meet with him, loan him one of my bikes and show him the ropes.

Well he forgot to tell me he had never biked before. Yipes! Thankfully two friends showed up to ride with us. The gentleman was terrified. He had that death grip on the handlebars that caused the front end to wobble which terrified him more (of course not helped by the fact the seat was jammed way down and his knees were in his chest). We never got onto dirt, and stayed on the bike path for about 4 miles. After prying his fingers off the handlebars, he thanked me for the lesson but decided biking was not for him.

I feel bad. I wondered if it could have been handled differently but bottom line, I think, people just have to be adventuress... we take riding a bike for granted. It can be scary for others.