Learning to ride a bike in less than 2 weeks!

Before the beginning of the summer holidays LP couldn't ride a bike, he'd been asking us to teach him for a while but because the Hubby had a bad foot he couldn't run alongside him so the teaching didn't happen. Over the last 6 months or so the hubby's foot got better and he promised LP he'd teach him to ride his bike when the school summer holidays came around. And so the first day of the holidays LP pulled his bike out and asked to go out.
8 year old boy on a red bike riding on a road





Stabilisers have improved


When BP was learning to ride his bike he was 5 years old and it took a while. The stabilisers were a bit rubbish, they kept him stable but they also didn't teach him anything about balance and as a result when they came off he had to learn to balance again. These days stabilisers are much better, they're kind of bendy so that they teach balance at the same time as keeping the bike upright.



LP's first trip out on his bike.












LP did really well on his first trip out on his bike, he's seen lots of his friends ride bikes and he knew what he needed to do. The stabilisers kept him upright unless he leaned too much and then the bike would fall. I have to say that the stabilisers are amazing these days, they've managed to make something that keeps the bike fairly stable while allowing the rider to learn balance and go over bumps without falling off.



Learning to get started on his own.








Ditching the stabilisers


A few trips out on his bike with the stabilisers and LP was ready for them to come off. He found that having the stabilisers on made it more difficult for him to learn how to turn around so they had to come off. 











  • I can think. I can sleep. I can move. I can ride my bike. I can dream.

Bill Walton





He was nervous about riding his bike without the stabilisers, he thought he would fall off straight away. But he didn't. He did lean quite a lot in the beginning, he said he felt like the bike was trying to throw him off. After a little discussion he realised that if he didn't lean and used his handlebars properly then he would stay upright. 






Again a few trips out and LP had the riding sorted. The turning was a little more difficult for him to get and he often bumped into the kerb or stopped before he did. He was eager to use the brakes and this stopped him from making progress sometimes. 






Practicing his turning helped a lot, we would make him ride along and then turn around. He was doing small loops and even doing circles sometimes just so he could get used to using his handlebars and directing the bike. 








And he's off


His progress was brilliant, we took him out most days during the holidays. He started riding his bike with stabilisers on 23rd July and by 1st August he was riding without his stabilisers. By 14th August all three of my boys were out on their bikes riding up and down the road. 



My boys ❤️



On 20th August the Hubby suggested they go out on a proper bike ride, not just along the road. We're lucky to live near a canal and there are lots of places to ride a bike where you don't really come into contact with cars. They rode more than 10 miles and LP loved it.






The next two days they did the same trip out and LP asked to do it every day and if it wasn't for us going to Venice I'm sure he would've wanted to do it again. 

The smile on his face when I see him going out on his bike with his dad is amazing. Now he is driven by targets and he wants to do the 10 mile ride faster. 








  • Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.

John F Kennedy






From the 23rd July we had LP out on his bike every day, he picked it up quickly and by 20th August he was riding 10 miles, along canals and footpaths. Now that he's back at school LP looks forward to the weekend so that him and his dad can go for the bike rides.

I put a little video together of LP's progress:



And don't forget you can see more of our days out, clothes reviews, and vlogs from me over on my YouTube Channel.



Did your little ones find it easy to learn how to ride a bike?