Thursday 30 December 2010

New Year's Resolution - Learn to ride

It’s like riding a bike!

That’s what we say about something we’ll never forget. And it’s quite true. Once we have learnt to ride a bike our brains will remember. It’s down to our molecular layer interneurons…apparently!

It is great when you get an opportunity to re-introduce someone to cycling. Even after a break of more than fifty years, it only takes a few minutes to get riding again.

But some people never learn to ride a bike. As a cycling instructor, one of the greatest joys is to help people to learn to ride a bicycle for the very first time.

As we get older we build up fear barriers, so the challenge is to persuade new cyclists to break down those barriers. Consequently teaching someone to ride a bike later in life is a gentle, careful activity where we progress in baby steps. It’s about boosting confidence – also known as “Gok Wan-ing” – and convincing the brain, those molecular layer interneurons, that it is perfectly safe to balance on two wheels.

So if someone you know is planning to make a New Year’s resolution to learn to ride a bike, then encourage them. Support them. Help them. It’s never too late and it just might be life changing. And you only have to learn once, because you never forget how to ride a bike!