Learn To Ride Curriculum

I really enjoy teaching people about bicycling, soccer, and many other things, but of all the things I’ve taught, teaching Learn To Ride is consistently the most fun and rewarding – it is so joyful to see my fledgling students earn their wings and learn to fly!

How many of you have taught others to learn to ride? How long did it take?

Can you teach someone who does not know how to ride a 2 wheel bike how to ride in 1-4 hours from start to finish? Yes you can!

Just say NO to training wheels!!!! While students do need to learn to pedal, that is easy to learn on a tricycle or stationary bike. Learning to balance is the most critical element of learning to ride a two wheeler and research shows balance bikes work best. An easy and inexpensive way to create a balance bike for someone of any age is to take a regular bike and just remove the pedals.

Here are 2 well proven methods, one super easy but slower (weeks or months), the second precisely engineered to quicky teach someone how to ride  (typically 1-4 hours total) and is best done with an experienced bicycle instructor. This latter technique was perfected by John Ciccarelli, founder of Bicycle Solutions.

1) Easy but slow method – just let the student play on a balance bike (or a bike with the pedals removed and the seat lowered so their feet can touch the ground). This works great but can take a few months before they are ready to pedal.

2) Fast Method – Bicycle Solutions created a refined step by step method that can get some riding in as little as an hour, most in 2-3 hours, and a few may take as long as 4-6 hours.  Here is the secret sauce for the fast method. This method can even be used during pandemics where you are outside and the instructor stays 10'+ away from a student -- no need to hold onto them or be physically near while they learn to ride.

1. Prereqs

   1. An easy gradual wide paved slope at least 100’ long where cars cannot go. 200’ long is even better. A car free slope like this can be surprisingly challenging to find.

   2. A bike with hand brakes (coaster brakes will not work for this technique) – must allow students to sit on the seat with feet flat on the ground to start. The seat gets raised as the lesson progresses.

   3. A positive experienced bicycle instructor/coach.

   4. Motivated student preferably with helmet, closed toe shoes, and trim fitting slacks or shorts (no loose or baggy clothing that will catch on chain, handlebars, seat, or other parts of bike).

2. Preparation

   1. Motivation is extremely important - stay encouraging and positive! Recognize specifically what the student does right each step of the way.
      Five positives for every correction ("Filling the Emotional Tank" from the Positive Coaching Alliance).
      Instructor demos and talks for each step but then student spends most time doing.
      Do not move to the next step until they have accomplished the goal of each step.
      Talk them thru each step but not too much.
      Can help to talk to student about whatever interests them while they practice to keep them happy and relaxed. Some learners need to stay very focused. Others need a bit of light distraction to  keep it fun and relaxed. Depends on the student.
      Visualize fun rewards (be a brownie or an ice cream cone or whatever) - especially helps with kids.

   2. Remove both pedals from bike.

   3. Have seat at height so student can sit in bike seat with their legs straight and feet flat on ground.

3. Method

   1. Check student's helmet to make sure it fits correctly.

   2. Practice walking bike including turns.

      1. Instructor demonstrates while student attempts.

      2. Usually stay on left side of bike away from chain (so you reduce getting chain grease on you). Ok to be on right otherwise (especially for differently abled people who need to be on right to get on bike due to leg or arm strength issues).

      3. Goal: can walk bike and turn both ways.

   3. Practice using brakes while walking bike.

      1. Instructor demonstrates first then student tries.

      2. Have student only use rear (right) brake - show how it can slow as well as skid rear tire but bike stays stable.

      3. Demonstrate what can happen if front (left brake) is squeezed hard. Student need not replicate this.

      4. Practice slowing vs stopping bike with right brake while walking the bike.

      5. Remind student to just use rear (right) brake for this lesson. Ok to use both brakes after passing learn to ride.

      6. Goal: can slow bike and can stop bike using rear brake.

   4. Mounting and dismounting 

      1. Squeeze brakes, swing leg over back of bike, may tip a tall bike toward you to make easier.

      2. Goal: can get on and off bicycle successfully.

   5. Stationary balance – finding balance point.

      1. Instructor demonstrates first then student tries.

      2. Bike vertical,  squeeze brakes so bike does not roll, sit up straight, strong arms with slight bend at elbow, relaxed.

      3. Keep body centered and aligned with bike.

      4. Rock back and forth from foot to foot to find balance point.

      5. Look ahead, not down. Makes it easier to balance. We go where we look (so looking down increases our tendency to fall).

      6. "Feel the force" of the bike through your hands and seat so you can tell where the bike is without looking at it.

      7. Wiggle turn handlebars to see what that feels like while trying to do stationary balance.

      8. Goal: can briefly maintain stationary balance while wiggling handlebars.

   6. No pedal glide - this step usually takes the longest but can be as quick as 10 minutes (5-10 attempts) or as long as 3-4 hours (60+ coasting attempts). Most get it in an hour or 2.

      1. Instructor demonstrates before student attempts.

      2. Legs used to propel bike forward and as landing gear.

      3. Use brakes to stop.

      4. Push off with both feet.

      5. See how long they can coast. Keep going down the slope until no more slope.

      6. Need not be in a straight line, they can go wherever they wish and can glide safely, in fact weaving around is better than sticking to a super straight line – they are learning to turn without realizing it.

      7. Keep practicing.

      8. Very important for coach to recognize each element the student does right – 5 positives for each correction - motivation is EXTREMELY important. At first coach can walk backwards ahead of student to observe them and be a target to look at. Later as they get better at gliding, instructor can switch to riding their bike ahead, next to, and behind them to oberve the student from all angles to see how their body mechanics are coming along.

      9. Some people are just super cautious, some twitch their body all over instead of using steering to balance, some slouch or lean, some grip the handlebars with a death grip.

      10. Coaching points:

          1. are they keeping their head up while looking around? (do not want them looking down as it is harder to balance)

          2. are they keeping their bike centered under them and vertical? (bike should not be wobbling under them)

          3. are they sitting tall with a calm centered body? (not twitching and shifting their body all over -- easiest to observe this from behind)

          4. do they have strong arms with a slight bend in elbow?

          5. are they using their steering to balance? (this is what we want!)

          6. the student may have very short glides to start but with practice the glides will get longer and longer

          7. recognize them for what they do correctly (5 positives for every correction). For instance recognize each glide that gets longer without feet touching on the ground.

      11. Goal: coast at least 100’ without feet touching the ground to earn their first pedal.

   7. One pedal glide

      1. Ask student which pedal they want to keep their foot on (or what foot they want to have touch the ground first), instructor adds appropriate pedal. 

      2. Raise seat a bit.

      3. Instructor demonstrates before student attempts.

      4. Place foot on pedal, push off with other foot. This is also known as the "scooter start".

      5. Goal: coast at least 100’ with one foot staying on pedal and other not touching the ground to earn their second pedal.

   8. Static finding the pedal

      1. Add second pedal

      2. Raise seat a bit further. Mention and demonstrate that most people walk with their legs straight, not bent. Eventually want leg to go almost straight when pedaling (just slight bend at the knee) and not always very bent when pedaling. 

      3. Instructor demonstrates before student attempts.

      4. Student positions bike parallel to a railing or post they can hold onto so they do not fall over.

      5. Hold brake with one hand and rail with other (or instructor holds bike) and have student start with first foot in pedal when pedal is all the way at the bottom of its stroke (just like they had it with one pedal glide) and move foot onto other pedal and back to ground repeatedly with their other foot starting from many different spots around the pedal so their body memorizes where the 2nd pedal is when the 1st pedal is all the way down.

      6. Look ahead and not at pedal, just practice finding pedal and putting the foot back down on the ground.

      7. Build muscle memory

      8. Goal: They feel confident and can find pedal while looking straight ahead (not down)

   9. Finding the pedal while coasting 

      1. Instructor demonstrates before student attempts.

      2. Now try when coasting

      3. Put 2nd foot in pedal only when they are confidently coasting first

      4. Goal: can coast 100’ with both feet on pedals.

   10. Glide start (scooter start) and start to pedal

       1. Now that they can glide, they can try pedaling after they get gliding

       2. Goal: can pedal the bike while balancing and not touching the ground with their feet for 100'+

   11. Turning intentionally

       1. Look where you want to go

       2. Turn shoulders

       3. "Think" yourself in the direction you want to go

       4. Goal: Can make a turn

   12. Ride a complete loop.

       1. Students are usually super happy at this point.

       2. To ride a loop they must pedal so they can go up gentle inclines.

       3. Goal: ride a complete loop without touching the ground

   13. Practice just riding around wherever student wants to go with instructor following. A few students prefer to follow the instructor (can you catch me?), others are happy to be the leader.

       1. Goal: student is comfortable riding around, turning left & right, starting and stopping, and avoiding obstacles for 10+ minutes or many thousands of feet of riding.

   14. Power Pedal Start

       1. After the student is now confidently pedaling around, instructor demonstrates power pedal start before student attempts.

       2. Pedal that they first started coasting on is cocked at 9 or 10 o’clock position.

       3. When ready (light turns or way is clear), push down hard to get bike moving and start pedaling right away

       4. More riding and power start practice

       5. Goal: Execute correct power pedal starts on downhill, level, and slight uphill areas. Continue this practice for a few more thousands of feet of riding before moving on.

   15. Shifting rear gears  (if bike has gears, if none then you are done!)

       1. Show how bike shifts (helps to have a bike with 2 leg kickstand so you can pedal bike with your hands to show chain shifting). Alternatively, instructor can hold bike up and pedal the bike with one hand while student does the shifting and watches the derailleur and chain to see what happens.

       2. Let student try to shift thru all the right (rear shifter) gears while riding to see how it feels 

       3. Don't worry about what gear number you are on (if they are numbered), the most important part is your legs are comfortable pedaling -- not to fast/easy or too slow/hard.

       4. Goal: student can shift thru all their rear gears while riding on a relatively level area.

   16. Shifting front gears (if bike has front derailleur, if none then you are done!) 

       1. Try left shifter – bigger jumps between gear ranges.

       2. Do some longer continuous rides

       3. Goal: student can shift thru all their front gears as well as rear gears.

   17. Advanced turning (optional)

       1. Demonstrate that you can have a bike at a very acute angle to the ground with you leaning on it and the tires still grip asphalt well.

       2. Demonstrate that if you turn with the inside pedal down, it can hit the ground. Pedal strikes on the ground can cause falls.

       3. Have outside foot down when making turn

       4. Goal: student has outside foot down when making left and right turns while coasting (a slope helps)

   18. Celebrate! A new rider has earned their wings and can fly!!

Tim's Learn to Ride Presentation from CalBike Summit 2022.

Before riding on roads it is important to be able to ride with one hand so you can use the other to signal and look behind you without swerving. Bicycle Solutions offers 3 levels of classes:

1. Learn to Ride - the curriculum outlined above. We give them homework to learn one hand riding on their own once they are confidently riding by hovering one hand just above their handlebar and seeing if they can keep it off for the count of 10. Eventually getting to ride a bike with one hand on the handlebar and one hand on their hip,. 

2. Handling skills - after student practices on their own and can ride with one hand on their hip, we then practice riding with one hand, signaling, looking behind, simple bike maneuvers in safe paved area, bicycling rules of the road. This lesson often continues into a simple road ride on very quiet roads.

3. Ride Along Coaching - practice all of the rules of the road on real roads. We show students how to ride to any location a student desires whether it be school, library, work, stores, or wherever.