They say that learning to ride a bike is as easy as learning to ride a bike.. or at least you’d hope so.
Thirteen years ago tragedy struck when a four-eyed freckly faced
teenager hurtled down a concrete hill on a mountain bike, only to be
told half way down said hill that the brakes no longer worked. The
result? A pair of shredded birthday trainers and a broken wrist. The
cyclist? Me.
Thousands of Londoners cycle to work on a daily basis in order to
beat the sardine commute on the tubes and buses. I am not one of them. I
would rather rest in the armpit of a sweaty commuter than be squashed
by a bus. However, having been told by my new boss that I will have to
cycle to work on one of our trips later this year, I decided that it was
time to bite the bullet and get back on a bike!
Thankfully, the lovely people at Cycle Confident
have been my knights in shining armour (or bike helmets!) with a
subsidised scheme in the Westminster* area, for people who have never
ridden/fallen off/forgotten how to ride a bike. The aim of the scheme is
to make sure that cyclists are safe on the roads of London and to try
and reduce the number of injuries on the roads.
There are three levels of classes:
Level 1A: Complete Beginner – Balance, confidence, simple off road cycling (2 hours)
Level 1B: Signalling, breaks, gears and advance off road training (2 hours)
Level 2: On Road Training (Half Day Course)
I started with Level One and I’m proud to say that I only fell off
once! The instructor, Nick, was extremely supportive and good at
building confidence in both myself and the other beginners. One girl in
my class had never been on a bike and by the end of the two hours she
was whizzing past me. Needless to say, I was impressed! Not having a
bike is no excuse, as they are happy to provide you with a bike and
helmet during the class.
So if the thought of getting on a bike sends shivers down your spine,
take the plunge and sign up for a class. If I can do it, you can!
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