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Original poster

If you didn't learn to ride a bike as a child

60 replies

bigbluebus · 20/10/2022 11:47

Why was that? My question sprung to mind when watching BBC Breakfast's piece on the Children in Need Rickshaw challenge this morning where the young lady riding the rickshaw today said she'd never ridden a bike.

I've come across 2 friends/acquaintances in my life who have admitted they can't ride a bike but I didn't question the reason why. So if this is you, disabilities aside, why do you think you never learned to ride a bike?

OP posts:
mamabear715 · 20/10/2022 11:51

I had a trike when they were all the rage! Loved it. Obviously more stable with three wheels, not sure why I never progressed to a bike. Probably because of horses.. I fell in love & had those instead! They were pretty stable too, most of the time.. ;-)

bruffin · 20/10/2022 11:54

My dsis never got balance despite having a bike. but maybe she would be diagnosed with mild dyspraxia today

Irresponsibl · 20/10/2022 11:55

I’ve never known how to ride a bike. I did attempt it once when I was a teen but struggled with the whole balance and letting myself go thing. Never really tried again as it didn’t really interest me, didn’t really see it as a vital skill in my life and nor do I feel like it’s holding me back. It just doesn’t affect me x

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Original poster
bigbluebus · 20/10/2022 12:11

I know one of my DS's friends rode for a short while when they were around 5 or 6 but he had poor eyesight and didn't feel confident once they all got bigger bikes and went faster as he couldn't see obstructions early enough to take safe action so he lost his confidence.
When my DS learnt we lived in a cul de sac so it was really safe for the little ones to practice on the road outside the house. Then they built more houses and the road (although still a cul de sac) is much busier. I do a sharp intake of breath sometimes as I see the children on their bikes now with seemingly very little consideration of the dangers of traffic.

I wondered if some people hadn't learned to ride if they grew up in large towns or cities where traffic was much more prevalent although large parks were probably more common.

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Original poster
bigbluebus · 20/10/2022 12:13

Irresponsibl · 20/10/2022 11:55

I’ve never known how to ride a bike. I did attempt it once when I was a teen but struggled with the whole balance and letting myself go thing. Never really tried again as it didn’t really interest me, didn’t really see it as a vital skill in my life and nor do I feel like it’s holding me back. It just doesn’t affect me x

I don't think it affected the people I knew either. It just cropped up in conversation as we talked about bike rides we'd done (me & DH) and places locally that were good to ride to.

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Cheeeeislifenow · 20/10/2022 12:15

Never owned a bike as a kid, and didn't have loving parents to help teach me! But as an adult now, I have poor balance and lack confidence in those kinds if activities, I am very embarrassed by it.

Irresponsibl · 20/10/2022 12:19

@bigbluebus It’s like swimming for instance, some people just never learn even though there’s no underlying reason/fear. Or some just don’t get round to it.

MostlyHappyMummy · 20/10/2022 12:21

Didn't have access to a bike - poor upbringing
But paid for a few lessons in my 40s and learnt

Original poster
bigbluebus · 20/10/2022 12:42

Cheeeeislifenow · 20/10/2022 12:15

Never owned a bike as a kid, and didn't have loving parents to help teach me! But as an adult now, I have poor balance and lack confidence in those kinds if activities, I am very embarrassed by it.

@Cheeeeislifenow Don't be embarrassed about it? It is what it is - some people are good at some things, others are not!

I'm absolutely terrified of heights. I freeze if I even attempt to go up/across something high. My friends and family all know this. We adapt accordingly so I don't have to encounter high things. Sometimes that means I sit and wait for them and hold the bags whilst they go up a tower for example or at other times we find an alternative route or just avoid the activity all together. I'm not embarrassed though. I often consider trying treatment to overcome it but it hasn't worked for other situations so I haven't bothered. I just live with it but I'm not embarrassed by it.

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3beesinmybonnet · 20/10/2022 12:48

I asked for years for a bike for Xmas, birthday etc but never got one. Friends had bikes and I would occasionally have a go at riding them but never learnt. It wasn't money as growing up in a poor area we were better off than most of my friends.
As an adult I asked my DM why I never got a bike and she said because the roads were dangerous. So I asked her in that case how come they got DB one? She didn't really have an answer for that.

DH taught me to ride a bike and I bought one but was never confident on it and eventually got rid. I made sure my DS had a bike and learnt to ride it properly, and as an adult he uses it a lot.

Original poster
bigbluebus · 20/10/2022 12:48

Irresponsibl · 20/10/2022 12:19

@bigbluebus It’s like swimming for instance, some people just never learn even though there’s no underlying reason/fear. Or some just don’t get round to it.

@Irresponsibl My DH never learned to swim as a child. Both his older brothers did (although there's a 10 year gap between him and his brothers). Can't think of any reason why he didn't learn other than his parents just didn't take him swimming very much. (They could both swim).
He did learn to swim in his 40's though when he realised he couldn't take DS to the pool and help him to learn. He went for lessons with a friend who was in a similar position and they both learnt to swim really well. So it wasn't that they couldn't do it - they'd just never been taught.

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ShippingNews · 20/10/2022 12:51

I never did, and still can't. My parents were very over- protective and they felt that bikes were dangerous. Nobody in my family did. I tried as an adult , even bought myself one. Got a friend to show me, and she was very patient. But I just couldn't get the hang of it.

PrincessesRUs · 20/10/2022 12:55

My dad wouldn't let me - said it was too dangerous! I wasn't ever fussed so didn't push it. I did learn in my teens but found it hard at that age and have never been very confident

Midnights · 20/10/2022 12:57

I can't ride a bike! I had an accident when learning as a child that left a terrifying memory, a hospital trip and several scars (it involved me and a car). I've never learnt, I'm just not interested now.

Original poster
bigbluebus · 20/10/2022 12:59

All my bikes were 2nd hand. I had 2 older brothers so inherited their bikes - including one with a cross bar when I got into bigger bikes. I even remember getting a 2nd hand bike for my birthday - it had belonged to the next door neighbour's children. I was delighted to get it. Hand me downs were very much the norm.

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comfyshoes2022 · 20/10/2022 12:59

I tried once and fell as a yoing child, and I wasn’t eager to try again for a while. My parents brought trying again up all the time with good intentions but it got to the point where it turned me off completely. Then the window to learn as a kid passed, and I’ve never missed it!

jerkchicken · 20/10/2022 13:00

Parents couldn’t be arsed. I wish they had tried - I am late 30s now and can’t imagine trying to get on a bike now

dayswithaY · 20/10/2022 13:00

My son absolutely refused to learn to ride a bike. We took him to the park every weekend for what seemed to like months, helping him, guiding, picking him up when he fell off, running beside him. He used to scream and say “Why do I need to ride a bike!”

Answer: as an adult you will be asked why you have never learned to ride a bike and inevitably, your parents will shoulder some of the blame.

He then spent his university years riding round the city he lived in, on a bike. But strangely, never mentioned our lessons in the park.

Time40 · 20/10/2022 13:02

My parents just never thought of it. I did try to learn as an adult, but I couldn't get the hang of it. It's a shame - it would be a nice skill to have.

Bloodybridget · 20/10/2022 13:03

I grew up in a flat, on a main road. Not much money, nowhere to keep a bike, nowhere safe to ride it.
Tbh people being surprised at some of us not learning to cycle as children rather pisses me off. It's a middle class viewpoint that shows a lack of imagination.

crackofdoom · 20/10/2022 13:09

This is a sore point for me, as a single mum. DS1 learnt easily, DS2 hasn't been keen so far- at the age of 7. But, I just can't do the constant fucking maintenance. DS1's bike is ALWAYS fucking breaking (I bought him a mountain bike, stupidly). I mean, I'll pay 90 quid for something to be fixed, he happily takes it for one ride, and comes back with a broken chain or something (strongly suspects he abuses it, but he won't listen).

And then DS2 has a fairly decent hand-me-down, but for lack of use it moulders in the lean-to (don't forget if bikes are to stay in good nick you need somewhere dry to keep them, something a lot of low income families don't have), so when he expresses a desire to ride it the tyres need pumping up, possibly changing, so I remember to have to get inner tubes of the right dimension next time I'm going into town....it's just endless, fucking endless. On top of everything else, I. just. can't.

And we live in an area that's terrible for cycling anyway- it's all hills and narrow winding lanes. Not a cycle path within miles.

Hbh17 · 20/10/2022 13:10

Had a trike as a small child, and was offered a bike more than once by parents but I just wasn't interested. I mean, why would I want to be out bike riding when I could be indoors reading books? I'd devour 3 library books each weekend, probably from age 9 thru to 18, plus any other books & newspapers I could get my hands on. 40 years later, nothing has really changed!

Flagshitstore · 20/10/2022 13:12

Lazy parenting.

Eunoia · 20/10/2022 13:13

My parents were very over-protective, wouldn't take the stabilisers off Blush

Original poster
bigbluebus · 20/10/2022 13:14

Bloodybridget · 20/10/2022 13:03

I grew up in a flat, on a main road. Not much money, nowhere to keep a bike, nowhere safe to ride it.
Tbh people being surprised at some of us not learning to cycle as children rather pisses me off. It's a middle class viewpoint that shows a lack of imagination.

@Bloodybridget Where did I express surprise. I quite specifically said when I encountered adults who couldn't ride I didn't question it - we just moved on. I wasn't being judgemental or "middle class".

I'm just interested to know the various reasons why people didn't learn. It's like learning to drive - some people can't some people don't need to as they live in areas where public transport don't make it a necessity or they just can't afford it. I'm not judging, I'm just curious about the reasons and/or barriers.

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