Tag: bicycle

How do I teach my child to ride a bicycle?

How do I teach my child to ride a bicycle is one of the most frequent questions we receive. Here is a simple step by step guide that any parent can follow:

Firstly, find a suitable location. You will need plenty of space, a mix of different surfaces like gravel, bitumen and grass and ideally some flat and gradient areas. Quiet Cul-de-sacs and car parks work – the tighter the spaces the harder it’ll be to learn. I personally prefer some leafy parks with shade, trees and interesting areas to ride along as an extra incentive. As parks can get busy, chose a time when it’s still relatively quiet so your child doesn’t have to contend with too many walkers, runners and dogs.

Secondly, prepare the bicycle. A bicycle that’s too small will be terribly difficult to ride on. A bicycle that’s too big can potentially scare your child as they can’t make contact with their feet. What’s the right size? Get your child to sit on the saddle, if your child can comfortably reach the ground with his or her feet, that’s perfect. If they can only just reach with their tippy toes or there’s no contact with the ground, the frame is too big – particularly if the seat is on its lowest position. If your child has to bend the legs or would stand with space above the saddle, the frame is too small, particularly if the seat is on its highest setting.

If adjusting the seat doesn’t get your child into the optimum position, your frame isn’t suitable. Try and get the right size bike before attempting to learn to ride.

Remove training wheels. Training wheels do absolutely nothing for your child as they take away the ability to learn how to mount the bike and how to balance, which are both core skills of riding. Yes, your child will be to pedal, but pedalling is easy. Transitioning from training wheels will require you to follow the below steps. So, off they go, bye bye training wheels!

Check the brakes are working. Ideally you want a bicycle with two brake leavers on the handle bar. Most bigger bicycles have two brake leavers (as opposed to a pedal back brake) so why not learn one system once and make the rest of the life easier.

Once you know the brakes are working, check that your child is able to use the brakes – a lot of the times leavers are set so that adults can use them, but children can’t. Adjust the position of the brakes so your child can easily reach and pull the leavers.

Optional: remove the pedals. If you want to ease your child into riding, this is the gentlest option. Take the pedals off, keep them close by and when following the instructions below you get prompted to put them on, put them on. A tool is required for removal of pedals, but to put them on only elbow grease is required.

If the bike is ready, you’ve sourced a suitable location then you’re ready to rock’n roll:

  • Explain to your child how brakes work and encourage him or her to always use both brakes. The left needs more pulling, the right is sensitive and both together will always help her control her bike.
  • The main goal is to get him or her scooting, like on a balance bike. Scooting means you sit on your saddle and use your feet to move yourself forward. You can stabilise yourself by putting her feet down on the ground.
  • Get them to start slowly, in their own time. Some children like to slowly ‘walk’ the bike, others go fast quickly. There’s no right or wrong here.
  • If you haven’t removed the pedals get your child to stick their feet out like a v-shape so they don’t hurt themselves on the pedal.
  • With growing confidence, encourage them to go a bit faster and count the seconds they can lift her feet off the ground and simply glide using the momentum they’ve build up. We’re aiming for three to five seconds of feet off the ground and the child gliding. That’d be sufficient time to start pedalling.
  • Depending on your child’s progress this part can take a while. There’s no point in rushing this part as this is how your child learns to balance.
  • To make it interesting you can swap between different surfaces – try to scoot down grassy slopes, gravel and/or bitumen and allow your child to feel the different responses of the bicycle. Anxious children tend to like grass as it slows the bicycle down and allows them to build their confidence.
  • Your child will be ready for pedals when she can glide for three to five seconds. This is the right time to either put the pedals back or explain the next challenge. Show her how to move the pedals with her foot backwards to a parallel position. If the bike has a pedal back break this will be a bit frustrating and tricky, you will need to help your child to dismount, lift the bike and move the pedals for them.
  • The goal is to put the pedals parallel to the ground then scoot as before. Once they have got the sense of gliding explain to your child to lift their feet up, place them on the pedals and start pedalling in a forward motion. Usually a lot of stop starts happen at this point in time. If you feel your child is getting frustrated, get them to refocus on scooting and gliding – the more confident they are at this, the easier it is to start pedalling.

While you may feel the urge to hold your child’s bicycle and run with her: don’t. You will need to allow your child to discover the feeling of balance on their own. If you hold the bicycle for your child you are depriving them of learning the skill and the magical sensations that come with it. While letting go may be a bit scary (for both of you),  it is a step towards independence, which makes riding a bicycle so much fun. You can run behind your child when they scoot, glide or ride, but I would recommend if you are keen to stay close to your child, bring your own bike and ride behind them.

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to see some major improvements soon. If you run into troubles, please comment below so we can help you trouble shoot!<

Profile Bikefriendly business: Svelto Bikes

We love featuring local business that help promote riding bicycles.* Is there a more bikefriendly business than one that actually builds bicycles? We’ve had a chat to Kate Biondo of the Galactic Cooperative, which is the mothership of Svelto Bikes, the only Western Australian (maybe even Australian?) e-bike manufacturer:

“Svelto Bikes is our quality Australian designed and built e-bike, and, as a business, is part of the Galactic Co-operative. As a local business with a passion for renewable energy we had a mission to see less cars on Australian roads. Electric bikes can be seen as a definite answer to Australia’s congested roads. Around six years ago we started experimenting with different electric bike technologies. We tried front, rear and two wheel drive motor combinations; many different controller and battery chemistry alternatives and always striving for the most reliable sustainable solution to the commuting problem. The result was our commuter electric bikes.”

“Our sustainability focus starts with the idea that an electric bike is a viable alternative to a second car. More than that though, a well designed and manufactured electric bike, suited to Australia’s climate and urban makeup is a sustainable alternative to a single occupant fossil fuelled car. It’s even more than that though; our bikes are designed to last longer than any other electric bike on the market, and in some cases will outlive most other motorised items as well. Our commuter electric bike has a 25 year design philosophy! We only make or use components that we believe will last 25 years (excluding consumables like tyres, brakes and battery). We’ll train you to ride and look after your bike, we’ll service your bike and maintain a relationship with you for the life of your bike. It’s all part of our commitment to the environmental, social and economic well-being of our planet and its inhabitants.”

“Several people from Galactic Cooperative and Svelto Bikes have come together to express their thoughts on the role that bicycles and e-bikes have played, and continue to play, in their lives. As a business, Svelto Bikes has a vision to put every commuter whose journey suits cycling on an e-bike. This ties in with the Galactic Co-operative mandates to engage with the community, and reduce the environmental impact of human activity. Svelto Bikes believes that innovation will allow people to move to a more environmentally responsible paradigm while also having a higher quality of life, rather than feeling like they’re sacrificing anything, which is where the environmental movement finds a great deal of resistance.”

“We have a pool bike ready for use at the office and everyone is encouraged to use it for small trips around the place from picking up parts from local suppliers and lunch items.”

“The Svelto Bike was conceptualised by Andrea Biondo. Andrea has always ridden a bike and given the opportunity will ride to most places. While in training for an apprenticeship back in the eighties he would ride his bike to the training facility on Ley Street, Manning from Langford everyday. Once in the workforce Andrea struggled to find opportunities to ride because of the nature of his work in the service industry. Change of career and a move towards being where we are today meant that bike riding came to the forefront once more. Riding his bike to and from Curtin University where he studied Physics and then went on to work at Curtin University for a couple of years riding his bike rain or shine. Starting work at University of Western Australia meant more a longer commute and Andrea started thinking how to make the 16 kilometre journey there and back more manageable. His thoughts went into the realm of an electric bike, and hence the beginning of the Svelto prototype.”

“Kate Biondo didn’t have such a close relationship to the bicycle as some others. It was always a means to get to places and she was so keen to get her licence and drive a car at 17. Until she could drive though, Kate has many fond memories of being one of the Charlie’s angels riding around the deserted Primary School grounds with her friends and the independence of going to and from friends homes, the shops and High School. Having her son, Isaac, was another big boost to use a bike once more. Kate wanted to make sure Isaac new that cycling was a part of what he does as a family and it was seen as a normal way of getting about. Kate, Andrea and Isaac have cycled a lot; to and from Isaac’s school, all around Rottnest on a yearly basis from when Isaac was 3 to about 10 years of age and still do at any opportunity, and on weekends to explore along the Canning and Swan River. Isaac to this day rides his e-bike (A very pieced together machine from discarded items Andrea didn’t need) to High School and the local shops.”

“Kat Sherwin’s personal relationship with the bicycle combines different facets of the commuter, the exerciser and the leisure rider. She uses her bike primarily as a commuter vehicle, but considers its fitness benefits as a supporting factor in her sports training. For her, it is a way to minimise her environmental impact as a commuter. Not least of all, she has found an unexpected joy in feeling connected to the world as she moves through it, rather than being insulated and isolated as one tends to be in a car. She finds it fascinating to be able to smell the seasons and the different times of day, to note the different wind directions between morning and evening, and to enjoy the work of gardeners whose roses and jasmine and fig trees line her route to the gym, work and home.”

“People have a preconception of e-bikes as being big, clunky, inconvenient things. Svelto Bikes are designed from the starting point of a traditional bicycle, to be sleek, modern and easy to handle. They’re simple and safe to operate and maintain and this makes them the ideal replacement for cars as commuter vehicles. A Bluetooth Android app allows you to be in total control of your bike and achieve the most personalised, connected riding experience possible.”

“Additionally, a concerning trend has emerged, where more and more people are purchasing e-bikes as short-term, consumable, throw-away items. This approach is clearly disastrous on an environmental front, which is why Svelto Bikes are designed to last 25 years. Current battery technology isn’t quite sufficient but Svelto Bikes is constantly working to improve the product, and battery life will only get better. To this end, we are committed to helping you keep your Svelto Bike at the cutting edge of technology throughout its lifetime, by offering opportunities to upgrade the hardware as better innovations become available.”

“Svelto’s aim is to move people away from thinking of bicycles as accessories to be replaced when they’re “out of fashion”. This bike is an investment in your future, and a companion that will be in your life for many, many years to come.”

*Please note: our regular bikefriendly business profiles aim to highlight businesses that are of interested to people on bicycles. We don’t receive any payment for these features. If you run a business that supports people riding bicycles, please drop us a line!

Short Trip Tip: Wadandi Track

One of the main reasons I love commuting by bicycle so much is that despite the fact my journey is basically a relatively boring return trip (going back and forth on the same stretch), I do actually have a reason to ride: get to work, get home! When I ride for pleasure, let’s say a short day trip, I usually prefer a round journey rather than simple return trips. Having said all this, exceptions prove the rule: Have you tried the Wadandi Track? It proves that the same stretch looks different each way!

If you’re exploring Western Australia’s South West (which you should, it’s absolutely gorgeous) this return journey is worth your while, because: forest, coffee, country towns.

While I’m not up for long rides at the moment and lately chose to be support crew rather than active rider, this track is easy and short and even I could do it. Here the highlights:

Start of the Wadani Track on Sunset Drive, Cowaramup.

We launched the 14 kilometre return trip in Cowaramup, which is worth stopping and having a look in its own right. There’s a few cafes and artisian shops to explore. Unfortunately the start of the ride was a little tricky to find. On the trail’s website it said the beginning would be next to the Fire Station, but googling ‘Fire Station in Cowaramup’ lead to nothing. As it turns out, it’s a volunteer fire station and it’s on the corner of Memorial Drive, Miamup Road and Sunset Drive. We had followed Sunset Drive until we found the beginning of the trail, which I photographed, but with the above info finding the trail start is easy.

From there onward this trail was pure joy: as the track follows a former rail line, think a slightly descending gravel path surrounded by lush green forests, occasional dog walkers and wonderfully shady ride.

Wonky (but sturdy) wood bridges along the way open views onto little creeks and rivers. Occasionally sleepers peep out from under the gravel and remind you that you’re following a railway line. A few road cross the path, but overall, this is perfect terrain to zone out and meditate your way to Margaret River.

While the words ‘country town’ and ‘trendy’ may sound like an oxymoron, Margaret River does actually IS a trendy country town. Plenty of cafes, sophisticated bars and restaurants line the town’s main street and make it hard to choose where to sit down for a refreshing coffee and meal. Wherever you chose, no doubt, you’ll be happy with what’s on offer.

Bridge crossing on the Wadandi Track near Margaret River.

The Wadandi Track continues further south beyond Margaret River all the way to Witchcliffe, a tiny ‘town’. If you’re keen to extend your ride for another 8 kilometres (and 8 back) the ride is beautiful and worth it. We’ve travelled through Witchcliffe a few times and I remember there was no spot for having a coffee (read: extreme disappointment) so I was happy to ‘only’ go to Margaret River.

If food/coffee isn’t as important to you (as it is to me) you may like to explore Witchcliffe’s Flying Wardrobe, a second hand/bric-abrac shop that has a cult following. Hands-down, I’ve never been able to leave this place without finding something that I really ‘needed’.

For today, this track was nice and we headed back to Cowaramup after lunch – the terrain was slightly ascending, but with a bit of tail wind and having had a beautiful meal this was completely doable without kicking up a sweat.

5 Golden rules to buying second-hand

Purchasing a pre-loved bicycle definitely comes with a list of ‘make your heart sing’, feel-good vibes: while you’re saving money, the pre-owner makes a few bugs and everybody saves the planet a little bit by diverting potential scrap from landfill.

Having said all this, if the only reason you’re contemplating a second-hand purchase is to save money and you have no idea of even the right sized bicycle, then seeking the advice of a professional bicycle shop may be worth in the long run and save you from buying something that isn’t doing it’s job for you.

Here a little handy list of things to consider that should make your second-hand shopping a pleasant and thrifty experience:

  1. Do your Homework First

    Shopping, whether online or in person is always a whole lot easier and quicker when you actually know what you want. Buying a bicycle is no exception. One of the first questions you would get asked in a bicycle shop is “What do you want to use the bicycle for?” and you should have a rough idea in mind, regardless of whether you seek the help of a professional shop or go second hand.

    Whether you’re going mountain biking, road racing, bike touring or simply want a bicycle that is an all-rounder determines what the bicycle can handle. It determines it’s shape, style, weight, material it’s made from, the breaks and other specs: basically it shapes the bike from top to bottom. If you’re trying to get back into riding, have a read of one of our earlier posts on good beginner bicycles, which should give you a good idea of where to start.

    Even though you might be keen to buy second-hand, it’s a great idea to check the current retail value of the bike you’re after. While the pre-loved bicycle you’ve spotted may not make that price, it’ll give you a basic idea of whether the seller’s asking price is reasonable, an absolute bargain or a little beyond their wildest dreams.

  2. The Devil is in the Detail

    How do you assess whether your perfect dream bike is good quality? Overall, anything that looks rusty, dusty and cobwebbed is not particularly ideal. A bicycle that has been waiting in someone’s garage is unlikely to be well-served and maintained. I had friends purchase a bicycle second-hand that had never been used, because it was still half-way wrapped in the box it came in and hadn’t even been assembled.

    If you’re not a bicycle nerd and wouldn’t be able to tell whether a bike is worth it’s money just try and take a closer look at the basics. The details you’re after isn’t the colour of the bicycle, but all of the technical components that make a bicycle valuable (or not). Crank-sets, derailleurs, breaks are all parts that can be worth between $100 to $500 each. Ask the seller for the names of the components and simply google the current selling price. If they don’t know, simply ask them to send you close ups of the bicycle so you can see for yourself.

    Also, If parts look overly worn, rusty, have scratch marks or dints breaks consider your purchase carefully.

  3. Choose Your Seller Carefully

    Unfortunately, not all bicycles being sold second-hand are totally legitimate. If you know the seller, excellent. If  you’re looking at online platforms beyond your personal reach like Gumtree, Facebook or Ebay take the time to find out whether the bicycle you’re eyeing is kosher. Police have developed a national register for stolen bicycles (which is highly advisable to register you bike on once purchased), but more informal, local networks like this one are a good checker too.

  4. Try Before you Buy

    So you’ve done your homework, found the bicycle you’re after, checked that it’s not stolen: you arrange to meet the seller and buy your bicycle, right? Not quite. Definitely try the bicycle you want to buy. Literally. Don’t assume just because you think this is the right one, it is. Hop one, give it a spin up and down the road, try gears, breaks, even take a family member or friend to see how you look on the bicycle.

    Want you want to check is: do all leavers move easily and do what they’re supposed to? Do the frame and handle-bar feel comfortable? Do you hear any irritating squeak or clunking noise that points to issue? Want your family/friend should check is: does the frame-size look good? Are you pelvis and hip nice and still when you pedal – if they rock sideways, can you adjust the seat height and stop the movement?

  5. Budget a Service

    If you are savvy enough to do your own bicycle service: definitely schedule in time to do this before you’re using your brand new purchase and fix any issue that you come across.

    If you’re not bicycle maintenance savvy at all: definitely book your bicycle into a good, decent bike shop to check your bike from top to toe. A basic bike service costs anywhere between $60 and $160, depending on the shop and your relationship with said outlet. Also budget for some parts that may need replacing. It is definitely worth the time and money!

A review of how we’re doing

It’s the beginning of a fresh, new financial year: Woohoo and oh boy! How does it happen that another 12 months have passed?

It’s a good time to look at how we’re fairing in our quest to get more people on bicycles. Over the last twelve months I have:

  • Up-skilled a total of 445 people. 133 adults and 312 children.
  • Ran 20 adult workshops and two school holiday workshops for children.
  • Visited two schools.
  • Presented about bicycles at Transition Town Vincent.
  • Wrote and published a set of school resources for teachers.
  • Published 17 blog posts and 9 newsletters.
  • Launched our Facebook page.

Overall, this is a pretty good result and pulling this together a mighty effort given that most of the above work happened on weekends and after-hours complementing a day job.

A big challenge was offering school bicycle education to schools. Being limited during the week has required this social enterprise to grow from ‘micro’ to ‘small’ in a short amount of time. What an amazing experience though to offer more workshops during the week and getting little people on bicycles. Not to mention the buzz one gets when having additional coaches help and pursuing the same goal!

Public speaking has evolved to be part of this organisation, which has been a thrill – slightly terrifying, but so rewarding. I’d love to do more of those!

There is only little visible of all of the hours spent on marketing. Looking at the annual output I’m actually surprised of the regularity of posts over the months. It always feels like I’ve forgotten to capture an event or missed to announce an upcoming workshop, but reality says I’m doing okay.

All in all, I’m pretty happy with the last twelve months and it’s nice to take a step back to look at the milestones.

What do you think?

What can drivers do to increase the number of people on bicycles?

If you see a ‘war on our roads’ and tend to spill your anger and vile about atrocious behaviour of cyclists or motorists all over your keyboard, then this post is not for you. Anyone else who is genuinely curious and open to other perspectives, please keep reading:

I’m a person who sometimes sits in a car, sometimes on a bicycle. I know the two worlds. I know what the two worlds feel like. And I know there’s a lot each and every one of us (yes, including me!) can do to make the people in both worlds feel a little better.

Does a person in a car have any interest in increasing the number of people on bicycles? Yes, we do. Every person on a bicycle means I’ll have one less car queuing up in front of me at the traffic lights (at the bowser, at turns, on the freeway – you name it). Every person on a bicycle means I’ll have a better chance of finding parking at my destination. Every person on a bicycle means someone else is helping to decrease pollution. Every person on a bicycle means our health system will be under less stress in the future because they are less likely to suffer from preventable diseases (think heart, diabetes, cancers).

The more people around me making the decision of swapping their car for a bicycle the better my drive will be today and the better my future looks in 20 years’ time.

If this motivates you to make others quit cars then follow these tips:

  1. Pay attention

When I drive, I accept that my vehicle can be dangerous to others (and to myself). It’s fast, strong and it relies on me who, even with the best of intentions, isn’t perfect. A minor inattention can have severe consequences and every time I drive I make myself acutely aware of this.

If you want to make sure more people ride then focus on what’s important, which isn’t the song on the radio, your phone call, nor the conversation with your passenger. Be there and pay attention.

  1. Accept reality

People who commute by bicycle usually feel the opposite of people who commute by car. When I get to work by car I’m often stressed, frustrated and upset about the world. When I ride I’m refreshed, motivated and genuinely happy.

I accept that the two worlds sound very different to the point of disbelieve and I also accept that there’s reasons why people chose either mode of transport.

If you want to be supportive of people who ride then accept that people chose their reality as much as they chose the colour of their shirts. Would you question someone’s fashion choice? I didn’t think so.

  1. More love, more patience, less anger

Honestly, I’m no stranger to cursing and cussing behind the steering wheel. Looking through that square window, beautifully sound proof, the profanities seem to be just tumbling out my mouth. And, hey, it doesn’t hurt anybody now, does it? Well, yes, it does. All my anger and lack of patience is a whole lot of negative energy that’s shifting my brain into awful mode. It’s self-perpetuating. The more upset I am the less resilient I become.

Dealing with people, even if they can’t hear me (and remember everyone can SEE me) is a lot easier if I let it go. I can’t control whatever silliness other people commit. The only thing I’m in control of is myself and the little car I’m sitting in. Even if I’m acoustically shut off from the world – everything I do is still a complete reflection of myself.

So, let your actions speak louder than the shouting in your car. Every single person on a bicycle (as well as in a car) will appreciate it.

  1. Stop the blame game

If you accept that patience and care is pivotal to making the world a better place then keep your finger-pointing in check. ‘He was too slow, she was too fast, he was tailgating, she jumped a red light, that car is parked across two bays, this one is blocking the driveway. I get it! We all make bad decisions in life for all sorts of reasons varying from almost understandable to ignorant and downright ridiculous.

I’ve been yelled at in my car. I’ve been yelled at on my bicycle. I’ve had rubbish thrown at me while riding. I’ve had rude gestures waved at me when driving. And, touch wood, fingers crossed, since I’ve had my driver’s licence for almost twenty years and have ridden my bicycle for almost 30 years never had an accident. Other people’s rudeness was just a moment of THEIR judgement on me.

I don’t need your judgement. You don’t need mine. I accept that you’re not perfect nor would I expect that I am. Can we agree on this?

Particularly, don’t tell a person on a bicycle off by honking your horn. It scares the living daylight out of them. If you think you’re perfect then practice perfection and let it go.

Do you have more suggestions of what we can do as drivers to make this world a bicycle friendly one?

5 Life lessons inspired by riding a bicycle

Are you familiar with Einstein’s quote “Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving”? If this rings true to you, check out our life lessons inspired by riding and teaching how to ride a bicycle:

You can be told the principle of balance, but finding it is up to you.

One of the first challenges of learning to ride a bicycle is to balance on the bike. As a bicycle teacher 90% of our job is to ease students into this challenge and while I spend a lot of time on giving tips how to achieve balancing on a bicycle, it is entirely in students’ hands (or body) to get the feeling for it.

From a technical perspective using the bicycle as a balance bike is the easiest way to teach riding. The student simply sits on the saddle and uses their feet to move the bike. In theory, the more at ease the student gets the longer they can keep their feet off the ground, giving them sufficient time to lift their feet onto the paddle. I prefer removing paddles entirely and get students used to the sensation until they’re ready to put their pedals on themselves.

Most adult students find this process entirely empowering, because they are in control of the process and determine their own progress. Some join classes thinking that their bicycle teacher will hold the bike for them, push them and run along to then let go of the bike and leave them pedalling on their own. This is probably what many parents do when they teach their children, but for two reasons I avoid this is approach. Firstly, I know the word ‘hate’ should be used sparsely, but I will in this context: I hate running. Particularly if it is rather pointless and can be avoided. Secondly, if I hold onto the bike I’m in fact balancing it for the student completely undermining the students learning experience of figuring balance out themselves. Which leads me back to point one: running behind a student and continuing to balance the bike on their behalf is pointless. Hence, no running.

The main point is though, everybody is different. Some will find it easy to balance, some need a bit more time to get the feeling. While we can all theorise about balance, in essence each of us, at our own pace, will work it out eventually.

Going fast is a lot easier than going slow.

Have you ever watched children learn to ride? Have you ever noticed that they have two types of speed? One is fast and one is standing still. It only really occurred to me when I watched adults learn to ride. When adults learn to ride they too will go either really fast or struggling to go at all. From a physiological point of view it makes complete sense and is reflected in Einstein’s famous quote and that if we move into a forward direction it is a whole lot easier to keep our balance. The slower we go the more difficult it is to keep the sideways forces under control. Imagine  you toss a coin. As long as the coin has momentum it will turn beautifully. The slower it gets the more sluggish it turns until it flops to one side and stops.

Isn’t this interesting? Taking a step back and mulling over this observation in a slightly more metaphorical sense I wonder how much this is true for how we are living our lives? As long as we have motivation and focus we feel in control perceive our lives as ‘moving ahead’. If things slow down and don’t seem to ‘move anymore’ are we still feeling in control? Are we still feeling motivated?

I’m not advocating a high-speed life as much as I don’t recommend people on bicycles going fast all the time. Quite the opposite. There are reasons why going slow is vital – in life as much as on a bike. As you would recognise a proficient person on a bicycle who can ride slowly and still keep their balance perhaps it’s worthwhile for us to acknowledge that life simply is a little bit harder to balance at times and to check in what pace we’re going at. Have we gone fast for quite a while or are things slowing down a bit?

Mostly we focus on when we’re out of balance. Balance is the inexplicable joy and ease we usually call ‘living’.

Particularly adult learners are their own most sever critique. I noticed that they love picking on themselves and their lack of skills. Putting myself into their shoes I understand the self-criticism. As adults we don’t like imperfection and we’ve forgotten what it feels like to learn something new. Children learners are accustomed to suck at something, but as long as the process of trying is fun, they’ll keep at it. Adults are a lot harsher and tend to comment on every failure. For a bicycle teacher managing students’ self-talk  is essential – if you keep repeating in your head how much you’re failing you’re shifting your mindset to failure.

What I find particularly interesting is the fact that in subsequent sessions students rarely notice when they do actually meet major milestones. This is even more noticeable further down the track. Joining a riding group where students have started as learners and now riding weekly for several kilometres, but have one situation where they may come off the path once or struggle to ride through bollards they will provide this a prove how little they know. Asking them how they enjoyed the remaining 15 kilometres of their ride they’d look puzzled as if a split second matters more than an hour of blissful bumbling along. Do we value when things go smoothly? Do we feel grateful and acknowledge when we’re balancing life okay?

Many things that make us come undone were creeping up on us long before we cared to notice.

One of the most essential safety skills a person a bicycle can acquire is scanning. Not a bar code, of course. By scanning I mean to turn your head to the left, right and even slightly behind you so that you can get a grasp of what’s around you. Scanning is the ability to look around you and identify anything that may have the potential to be a risk to your own journey and then take the action to keep safe.

Students who start riding on shared paths or parks often become overwhelmed by the potential of stationary or mobile obstacles they could run into or which could run into them. Mostly that’s because they still focus on the basics of balancing, starting or stopping and they don’t have the ability to scan just yet.

Having said that, just because one has the ability doesn’t mean that one uses this ability. On social rides with beginner riders the little things are what makes students come undone – like a dog that charges at them when overtaking, a child erratically jumps into their way, or the jogger runs across the path or a bollard that seemingly comes out of nowhere. Not all situations are foreseeable, but many are, if we had cared to look around us and take notice.

If you focus on the obstacle, you’ll be heading straight into it.

Even the absolute beginner rider can ride with uncanny accuracy. I’ve seen students hit a very narrow bollard, which would take a skilled cyclist serious navigating if they wanted to ride into it.  While it is one of the most frequent problems of beginner riders to avoid obstacles like riding through a set of bollards, narrow paths or bridges, it is one of the best practices that you can incorporate into your daily life.

So, you’ve scanned ahead (well done!), identified a potential obstacle – what happens next? You focus on said obstacle, start panicking, lose balance and control and forgot you could use all your balancing skills (and your brakes) and instead hugged the bollard (handrail, or whatever else it is you were fretting about).

How do you stop this from happening? Focus on what’s beyond the obstacle. Relax, pace your speed, glide through the tight spot and keep riding.

The first part is the hardest – don’t focus on the obstacle –  but if you consider how we live our daily lives I truly believe we tend to focus on issues and problems that we seem to be heading straight into. Metaphorically lifting the gaze and reminding ourselves that there is more to our life than what’s right in front of us feels challenging.

I’m not suggesting to ignore the problem (nor bollard), but I’m proposing to keep it in perspective. Yes, it is there, but there’s also other things we’re heading towards. It helps keeping a balanced life to keep everything in sight, not just the obstacles.

Do you have any treadlie inspired life-hacks to share?

Switch your thinking: Speed date an E-bike

For the last twelve months we’ve been part of Switch your Thinking and it’s been such an amazing experience. Switch your Thinking is a project initiated by the RAC and run by the City of Gosnells that sees a fleet of four e-bicycles being supplied to different local governments for a specified period of time, usually for a month.

The goal of the project is for the participating local governments to trial how staff respond to e-bicycles and whether they are used to replace short car trip. Different cities amend the framework to suit their goals – some allowed staff to take the bicycles home and use them for commutes, some enabled people to take them home over the weekend and allowed private use whereas others were keen to focus on work trips only.

The parameters of the induction training were that it had to fit into staff’s lunch breaks and couldn’t impact on their service delivery. With this in mind we’ve developed a very short and sweet training concept the “Speed date an E-bike” focusing on the elementary aspects of using the features of e-bikes effectively and safely.

Providing staff with an induction in such a short time frame is challenging from a trainer point of view, but the results of the training are instantaneous: there’s not a single group we’ve trained that didn’t whoop and cheer as soon as the pedal assist kicked in. There is something magical about discovering how easy it is to ride an e-bike and what options suddenly open up. Staff who work in the field suddenly realise they could simply ride to their locations instead of driving, or commutes could become feasible to travel by bike.

For local governments’ trialling the use of e-bikes without having to commit to purchase equipment is a low-risk, low cost project and can build a compelling case for future projects. With Switch your thinking coming to a close soon revisiting the data and measuring the outcomes will be interesting.

As a training provider it’s been an exciting challenge to work within the time constraints and developing a training session which is providing the most essential information and is fun and accessible.

Have you been part of Switch your Thinking? If so, let us if and how the project has affected you, we’d love to hear your story!

Life from the backseat: Profile by Mr Mo

Hi there, My name is Mr Mo, you can call me Mo or Momo. In fact, you could call me anything (preferably endearing) as I don’t hear. I’m 100% deaf, but that’s okay. My disability doesn’t impact on my riding at all. I’ve got my whits about and other senses to help. My nose for example works splendidly despite my age.

But let’s start at the beginning. At 79 years I’m a senior cyclist and I’ve come to riding bicycles very late in my life – I’ve only just started about two years ago. I love it so much though.

I’ll be honest with you, I was a little reluctant to try a bicycle. I mean, at my age? I’m not exactly a spring chicken anymore. What would I do if the bicycle tipped? At first I found it all a bit uncomfortable and really couldn’t see the point. Walking seemed like such a better way of getting around. Keeping the balance was the hardest part and it took me a little while to work it out. But paws down, now that it’s not so new to me anymore, I really can’t get enough of it.

I mostly ride on weekends either to the beach or I join Him and Her who like to hang out at cafés. I myself am not so much of a coffee drinker, which I suppose means that I’ll never be a real ‘cyclist’. Him and her also take me and the bikes on holidays and we explore things together. We went to Denmark a few months ago, rode into town, the beach and visited wineries. Just gorgeous!

I actually experience a whole lot more by bike than sitting in the car where I’m way to short to see anything. And it’s also hard to smell much. With my arthritic hips riding a bike means that I can get around so much faster, yet I’m still connected to the outside. In summer sniffing fresh air, but I’m not getting too hot and exhausted.

Feeling the wind in my face and smelling the scents of my hometown is really important to me. It makes me feel that I belong here.

Payal’s chain reaction

I actually never learnt riding when I was young, just one of those things that got totally missed out. We had a bicycle at home and my brother rode it often, but I never did! I learnt how to drive a car but could never balance myself on a bicycle and never really tried. Somehow, I wanted to learn much later in life in my late twenties, but never came around to doing much about it.

I had my kids and then whenever they’d ride I would think of teaching myself. Finally, when I saw the course at the City of Belmont I just had to join. I learnt a lot at the course, but my balance was still off even on the last day of training. By that time though my confidence was high and I was persistent. I just learnt how to balance very recently after practising with my kids on my elder boy’s bike. It’s only been three or four weeks since I can ride a bike. But I enjoy it immensely.

Now I ride about two to three times a week and for very short distances. I still do not have the stamina to ride uphill from my cul-de-sac, so haven’t gone much further from home yet. But I practice regularly and intend to eventually be able to ride farther from home, maybe to the train station or every day for work, if possible.

My kids ride with me too. And just a couple weeks back my husband bought a bike for himself. Even my father in-law has picked up bike riding. He used to drop my kids to school and walk with them while they rode, which was frustrating for him. He now rides a bike alongside them when he goes to drop and pick them up. This all started in a way after I mentioned that I wanted to learn how to ride…like a chain reaction!<