Can you ride a bike?

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Do not give up, it took me several years to learn, but I did it. A friend showed me a trick that worked very well, much easier than how my father tried...
Of course, I have been known to bump cars & take spills if I get distracted or start day-dreaming, but aside from these issues, one of the best loved of all my outdoor activities..

Sincerely,
Matthew

Pedalling is easy, but balancing, however, can be very challenging for people on the spectrum. For this reason, learning to cycle using stabilisers is not a good strategy.

Learning to balance effectively should be the priority of anyone learning to cycle, which is why I reccomend removing the pedals from your bike, and trying to stay ballanced while rolling down small slopes.

For many years, my parents had attempted to teach me using traditional (i.e flawed) methods, and I had always failed. I thought I'd never be able to cycle in my life, but after only one week using this method, I became a profficient cyclist, which is now one of my favourite pass-times, and my Lower-Functioning Autistic sister (who also has quite severe coordination issue) learned within three days! This method is becoming increasingly popular amongst parents of young children, and many are opting to buy push bikes rather than those with stabilisers.

Please try this method out and recommend it to anyone who has had trouble learning to cycle.

I learned when I was 6 or 7. I doubt learning it could be that difficult if you have a big flat surface and you keep the seat low. Once you get the wheels spinning balance is much easier.

I learned to ride a bike in 15 minutes when I was 9. Balancing was not a problem for me. Speed helps.

Yes I can used to do X-Games type of riding in the 80s. Can ride or drive anything I have tried including boats, motorcycles, trucks, cars, tractors, skidsteers. backhoes, bulldozers, road graders, snowmobiles, and ATVs. It seems to be one of my strongest talents.

A bike without pedals that is moved by pushing your feet on the ground used by kids to develop the balance and motor skills to ride a bike without training wheels. They have been used in Europe for decades and are now becoming increasingly popular in Britain. Training wheels are obsolete technology and I can't understand why kids bikes are still fitted with them.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balance_bicycle



Do AS kids have difficulty using gears on mountain bikes? Most AS kids I have encountered who can ride a bike own a BMX rather than a mountain bike unless they ride off road or long distances. Mountain bikes were the norm for kids when I was about 6 or 7 years old and it was a rite of passage to move up to a 20 inch wheel bike with gears. BMX bikes were uncommon until my final years at primary school.

The bike was like the car for me. Didn't matter how many times my parents tried to get me to ride a bike or drive a car it didn't happenend. But, when I was ready, though I was older than most kids back then and older than most adults I got on that bike and started riding it without help and I got in that car and started driving it without help, because the issues that I was having were removed by figuring out on my own how to overcome them.

In the early 2000s, companies began mass-producing bicycles with these types of frames. Those are 20" tires on it. I've seen mountain bikes with similar frames and the people riding them look like clowns trying to squeeze into a mini car. As for the "tall" part, I'm actually quite short, it's my proportions that are awkward (I also have large, knobby knees that tend to get in the way). My current setup is an old GT Dyno (second-hand salvage, including the Stolen "Cell" handlebars, which were new at the time) with 20x3.30 tires on an old pair of GT Stealth mag wheels (my Skyways don't match the bike). For doing tricks, I change out the wheels to a light composite alloy rims by Alex (these babies are over 13 years old and look as new as the day I got them).

Last edited by CyborgUprising on 20 Jan 2013, 11:59 am, edited 1 time in total.

I just hated how heavy they felt (harder to do tricks on) and how odd the wheels and handlebars felt. I can easily zip across town and turn on a dime with my BMX bike. I end up wiping out on a mountain bike. I have off-road tires for my BMX bike (20x3.30s) that I used for racing and some street tricks (they work nice in the snow as well - a necessity, since I did not have a car when I was at university).

I'm 37 so I don't think they had those when I was a kid. I don't know if that would have helped me. I couldn't balance even with training wheels.

Besides bad balance issues I'd be scared to ride it in the road with cars. I don't drive either and I'm easily distracted and have trouble multitasking.

balance bikes suck!

A bike with no pedals and brakes? Sounds lethal.

I love bikes - ridden since i was 3

however the truth is you are safer bombing down a mountain covered in rocks than you are in most cities on the roads

My dad taught me when I was young. It took awhile, but eventually I mastered it. I don't ride a lot now but I would like to.

I can't recall ever seeing any kids on balance bikes when I was in primary school so I suspect they were not available in Britain back then. Neither did I know of any kids who removed the pedals from their bike to convert it into a balance bike.

My AS support group offers balance bike training sessions to kids who can't ride a bike and so far all of them have been successful including those with quite bad balance and co-ordination issues.

i couldn't ride a bike until i was 13. i taught myself. i still have a really, really hard time doing it.

I couldn't learn to ride a bike , until I was 9 1/2 years old. It was a transitional learning for me, first I got comfortable on quad skates. The next step was my push scooter, with the big tire wheels. I also had help from NT siblings and the girl scoots troop that had a badge you could get. Now. I ride a bike with no problem. I do enjoy action sports the most.

Riding a bike? Sure. But rollerblading was impossible for me.