Anyone who has taught a child to ride a bike knows that it is a difficult process particularly because you feel helpless. There's only so much you can do and the rest is up to the child - including picking themselves up and getting back on the bike after several falls.
A friend of mine who is an avid cyclist has written a book called Peter Learns to Ride a Bicycle. Its a great book with tips that help the child to ride, and help the parent to help the child. Some of the basic tips were new to me, and yet they make a big difference in getting the feel for a bike. The illustrations are great. If you are readying yourself to teach your child to ride a bike or you know someone who is in this position, consider downloading his book. The details are on the author's blog: http://www.dailybicycle.com/.
I highly recommend it!
1 comment:
I read an excerpt from the book and Oliver obviously knows his stuff. In the book Peter's dad lowers his seat as low as possible and removes the pedals. He then has his son work on balance down a small incline. As owner of Balance Bikes 4 Kids, I'm a total advocate of this type of system. It reduces fear, puts the learning in the child's hands and is much safer than a wobbly bike with training wheels.
Our bikes are built with this method in mind. No pedals, sprockets or chains and they're smaller, lighter and sit lower than standard bikes. But if your child is older, 8 or above they may be too small. So do what Peter's dad does - remove the pedals, lower the seat and find a gradual incline to start coasting and working on balance.
Good stuff Oliver!
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