Can you swim and ride a bike?

[Ferne88]

I kind of assumed that most adults (save for those prevented from doing so by health reasons) could swim and ride a bike, but my friend reckons not.

So can you swim (so by that I mean at least a 50 meter length) and ride a bike?

I can ride a bike but I can’t swim.

Paying for lessons wasn’t really a thing around here in the 70s so most waited until school swimming lessons started when we were 9 or 10 (what is now Yr 5).

I had very little confidence in the water, like a few others, so one lesson the swimming teacher took a group of us non-swimmers down to the deep end, lined us up along the side and pushed us in one by one. She then shouted at us to swim the length of the pool to the shallow end. I remember pulling myself along by holding onto the side, and that experience terrified me and gave me a fear of water.

I can do both proficiently. DH can’t really do either. He can sort of wobble along on a bike but wouldn’t be able to catcher on a road or busy cycle path. Swimming wise, he can do a sort of doggy paddle/aproximation of bad front crawl but can’t be out of his depth. he was born to elderly parents who never bothered to teach him any of that sort of thing.

All those saying that you can ride a bike - will you a ride one?

Because I do cycle, primarily for transport but also for pleasure. I'm in no way a speedy cyclist and I'd love to go out for a bike ride and e.g. take a picnic in the summer with friends. But although all my friends "can" ride bikes, about half don't even have a bike, and of the rest I can only think of one who wouldn't definitely say no if I suggested it.

All those saying that you can ride a bike - will you a ride one?

I used to. For years it was my main transport, as I couldn't afford to run a car, and I'd also go out and about for fun. But then I lost my nerve for cycling on the road, so the bike is sitting unused in the shed.

I think this is really common. I have cycled consistently since I was a child and through university and then as an adult as well. So I have never lost my nerve. But traffic can be scary and I think if you stop it probably becomes much harder to persuade yourself to start again. I definitely have scary moments with cars (or mainly with buses tbh) on a regular basis but I don't give them too much thought.

Certainly what you're describing sounds like what I've seen with my friends - I wasn't sure if I had an unusual friendship group or if it was representative.

Because from the proportion of people who can ride on this thread we should have no problem becoming the next Amsterdam, but clearly we aren't, so there's a disconnect somewhere.

I don’t own a bike as I have nowhere to keep it. I’d love one though. We often hire bikes when we go on a U.K. holiday so yes I will ride one, I just don’t have one.

Both, but I know people who can’t swim, largely because they were never given the opportunity as children (probably parents who couldn’t swim) and were too nervous of the water as adults to try.

I can do both, but would struggle to swim 50m consistently- I'm not a strong swimmer

I've not ridden a bike for about 30 years. I'd probably be OK, if a bit wobbly! I can swim, not brilliantly.
We went swimming with school and had the most horrible swimming teacher the first year, he made me hate going so much I threw up. The second year, we had a lovely woman who got me over my fear.

Yes, both.

I haven't done either for years though as we don't have a pool near us and the only cycling available is hilly or on NSL roads and I don't enjoy either, lol.

Yes both, so can DH and both DSs

however DH never had swimming lessons as such which is unusual IME. He very reluctantly learnt as part of PE at school and totally loathes it.

Yes I can, though it is about ten years since I last rode a bike.

I expect adults unable to swim is more than you'd expect. Leisure facilities have been reduced and made less attractive over the last 10-20 years. Read some of the threads about the obstacles to using swimming pools.

I haven't done either for years, but yes I could swim and ride a bike from childhood. Swimming was something we learned at school, and my summers were basically spent at the pool.

I can swim - not very well but I learnt I’m first year of secondary when we had proper lessons.
I can’t ride a bike though, never learnt. Parents didn’t want me to (over protective) and then I just didn’t bother as an adult.
I made sure DC could swim and ride from a young age. DS was 4 when he first ride without stabilisers, DD older.
They could both swim by the end of infant school.

Yes to both, but I can't drive. No need, I swim and cycle everywhere (joke!).

Yes and yes. I grew up in an equatorial country and was swimming daily from age 4 and cycling to school from 5.

I can still do both, 40 years on. Cycling is my favourite form of exercise because you get to sit down the whole time.

I hate swimming but am competent at it, breaststroke only though. I suppose I learned as a necessary life skill.

I'm a competent and confident cyclist, these days on an ebike.

Me too although there is the theory that people that can't swim don't tend to put themselves in risky water related situations as much as people who think they are good swimmers! Definitely true for me!

Yes to both. DH can do both too.

perhaps some of it is geographical? We’re in rural south west so rode bikes everywhere as kids and swimming in rivers etc.

I can swim but I can't ride a bike

Yes that's true, in my case I won't go into the sea any further than waist deep, and like to stick to beaches that have lifeguards should the worse happen!

That's great , I don't think I'd ever enjoy wild swimming but it would be great to be able to swim a few lengths comfortably. I didn't have proper swimming lessons as a child so I never learned how to breathe in water , one day I might look into some adult lessons.

Several posters have made comments such as "of course!", "they're basic" and "they're life skills" which can come across as quite sneery and dismissive of people who can't swim/ride a bike.

I agree that swimming is an important life skill (while understanding why many people can't swim) as it could save your life (not sure about the op' s rather arbitrary 50m requirement, though).

But cycling?

Enjoyable for many, yes. A healthy and pollution free way to travel, yes. But necessary?

There are some countries where it's the main means of transport for poorer people but it's hardly an essential life skill in the UK. I'm in my 50s and can't think of one occasion in my entire life where I needed to be able to ride a bike.

I can swim (taught myself in my 50s) but I can't ride a bike.

My bike is rusting away in the shed, I think the last time I rode a bike was at centre parcs about 15 years ago!

I need to get back in to it ready for DD getting bigger as imagine bike rides will feature soon (she is 5 and learning). We have excellent local cycling around Rutland Water so no excuse.