Tips for Riding Your Bike Today

Learning to Ride a Bike as an Adult

Adult cycling instruction has gotten complicated with all the YouTube tutorials and conflicting advice flying around. As someone who taught my partner to ride last year, I learned everything there is to know about what actually works after she’d never learned as a kid – it happens more often than people think.

The process was awkward at first but surprisingly quick once we found the right approach.

Start With the Right Setup

Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Lower the seat so both feet can touch the ground flat while sitting. This kills proper pedaling efficiency but provides the security needed while learning. You’ll raise it later once balance clicks.

A simple bike works best. Flat handlebars, upright position, not too many gears to confuse things. Skip the road bike for now.

Learn Balance First, Pedaling Second

Remove the pedals or ignore them completely. Push along with your feet like a scooter, lifting them for progressively longer glides. This teaches balance without the complication of pedaling.

Find a gentle downhill slope – not steep, just enough to coast without pushing. Roll down repeatedly, keeping feet up for longer each time. When you can coast the whole slope with feet raised, balance is mostly figured out.

This scooting phase took about 30 minutes for my partner. Some people get it faster, some need longer. Don’t rush it.

Adding Pedaling

Once balance feels natural, put the pedals back on (or start using them). Start with one pedal at 2 o’clock, push off, and complete the rotation. The motion feels weird at first – you’re trying to coordinate circular movement while maintaining balance.

Keep sessions short. Fatigue and frustration kill learning. Three 20-minute sessions beat one 60-minute session.

The Brakes

Practice braking before you need it in a real situation. Use both brakes together gently. The front brake does most of the stopping work, but grabbing it hard without the rear will send you over the bars.

Learn to squeeze gradually rather than grabbing suddenly. Practice stopping from progressively faster speeds until it feels automatic.

Steering and Turning

Countersteering is unintuitive – to turn right, you briefly push the right handlebar forward. This makes the bike lean right, then you turn. At low speeds it’s less noticeable; at higher speeds it’s essential.

For now, just practice gentle turns in both directions. Tight turns come later. Wide, sweeping curves first.

Common Mistakes

Looking down: Your bike goes where you look. Keep your eyes up, looking where you want to go, not at the front wheel.

White-knuckle grip: Tension in your arms makes steering jerky. Relax your grip and let the bike move naturally.

Starting on hills: Learn on flat ground. Hills add complexity you don’t need while building basic skills.

Building Confidence

Empty parking lots are ideal learning environments. No traffic, no pedestrians, smooth surface, plenty of room for wobbly lines. Weekend mornings at school parking lots work well.

Once parking lots feel easy, move to quiet neighborhood streets. Then bike paths with other users. Then regular roads with traffic. Each step builds on the last.

When to Raise the Seat

Once you can start, stop, and turn confidently, raise the seat to proper height. Your leg should have a slight bend at the bottom of the pedal stroke. This is way more efficient than the feet-flat position you learned with.

The transition feels unstable at first because you can’t touch the ground as easily. Practice starting and stopping with the new height until it becomes normal.

It Does Click

That’s what makes teaching adults to ride endearing to us who’ve helped someone learn. There’s a moment where everything connects. Balance becomes automatic, pedaling is smooth, steering requires no thought. For my partner, it happened on day three. Some people get there sooner, some later.

Once it clicks, you have the skill forever. The saying is true – you never forget how to ride a bike. That first nervous lap around the block leads to confident rides across town. It starts clumsy and becomes second nature.