Learn to Cycle
Cycling is often seen as an essential life skill, just like swimming. However, learning to ride can be tricky so we have pulled together our top tips to help out, along with some great videos from Cycling Scotland’s Play on Pedals programme. The videos break down the process into easy, bite size chunks, so you and the child can work through each stage together at your own pace. We can also recommend this great YouTube video from Isla at IslaBikes
- Show the new rider the different parts of the bike, such as the brakes and the pedals and talk them about biking to enthuse them.
- Balance is the key skill for learning to cycle, so forget those pedals at first and bin those stabilisers! (You can take the pedals off using a 15mm spanner and turn towards the back of the bike on both sides). Put the saddle nice and low and get your child to scoot about using their feet.
- Encourage the rider to look ahead, cornering smoothly and encourage them to practise squeezing the brakes gently to slow down and stop.
- Once they have mastered balancing and can confidently lift their feet for around 5 – 10 seconds, you can put one or both pedals back on (if the rider is familiar with a scooter, sometimes replacing one pedal first can be an easy step to pedalling, as this turns the bike into a scooter with a seat). If required, support the rider at the shoulders and do not hold on to the bike. .
Remember, it is harder for some to master cycling and it needs balance, co-ordination and determination to come together.
- Practise, practise, practise! We recommend somewhere like Cooper Park in Elgin or Grant Park in Forres, or an empty school playground. Keep it fun and don’t panic if they have had enough after 5 minutes; a tired child is more likely to make mistakes. Remember, you can set a good example by joining them for short rides too!.
If you are struggling to teach them your young person to cycle, we run 45 mins, one-to-one sessions for ages 5+ during the school holidays (not Christmas) which are aimed at developing the cycling skills of young riders, including learning to cycle.
These sessions are up to 45mins and will depend on the child’s ability and concentration, with the outcome also being child-led, which means they may not learn to ride their bike for example, but they will be a lot further on their learning journey. Remember, learning to ride a bike is like learning to walk and talk and it has to be when the child is ready, otherwise it won’t work!
Please be aware that we DO NOT teach children to ride bikes using stablisers and provide balance bikes for each session. You are welcome to bring your child’s bike if preferred, but we will REMOVE the stabilisers and pedals (which can easily be reattached once they have mastered the balance bike).
Follow the link below to see our available sessions or sign up to our newsletter to be among the first to know about our next sessions.