Learning to ride a bike
I kept thinking it over and trying to figure out what I was doing wrong. I ended up watching some videos online to try and see what was going wrong. In the next lesson, Andy took some videos of me trying to cycle and this helped me see what I was doing.
Andy was so hopeful, he said it might take 5 days or it might take 10, you never know. But he always motivated me to keep tyring. I planned to give it 5 sessions before I gave up.
Surprisingly, in the next lesson, I started riding on my own. It was like something just clicked in me. I was so surprised; I am so glad I didn’t give up! I came home and told my family “I am doing it”, they were all so happy for me.
Andy and Jane then helped me to find a bike of my own to buy. I got a second hand one and they helped me make sure it was right for me and then set it up to my height.
Getting out on my bike
My plan was to join the Ride Rushmoor cycling group, but then I had to isolate because of COVID so couldn’t get out on the rides. I watched them on Instagram but I was so disappointed to not be able to take part after putting in so much work to learn to ride. Once I was out of isolation, work got busy so I didn’t have time to join the rides.
Luckily, there is a good cycle path on the estate I live in. During the summer I used to go for long hour and a half rides on my own. To start with I just went out near my home, but as I got more confident, I ventured further afield.
I would go cycling, places I had walked before and was familiar with. Every day, I could see myself gaining more confidence. I cycled all summer, but now it’s getting a bit too cold, I need to buy some gloves! I am excited to get back out next summer.
