Google can work wonders sometimes and simply putting the next phrase in the search box allowed me to find the right person for the job: teaching adults how to ride a bike when they are scared. The search directed me towards a volunteer organization called Ride Illinois! They teach adults how to ride a bike with a multi-step method. A volunteer contacted me and we immediately set a date for the weekend.
As soon as I started driving towards my lesson, my stomach started churning and I could feel my heart beating faster and I hadn’t even arrived at the location. This really resonated with me because as adults, how often do we put ourselves in situations where we have to learn something new and out of our comfort zone? However, we ask our students to learn new and foreign skills in front of their peer audience all the time. They must go through the same nervous feeling I was having and I wasn’t even being graded!
The instructor was nice enough to explain all the different parts of the bike and how the brakes work. The bike was the perfect height for me and I could put my feet to the ground. We started practicing how to coast. After an hour or so, I was able to coast while turning and I felt confident enough to put the pedals on. Another hour of utter failure, I could not get my feet to comfortably rest on the pedals and push. I was also fasting during the month of Ramadan and exhaustion was creeping up on me. The instructor said that it sometimes takes adults 3 to 4 lessons to learn. He reassured me and said I was doing great. For our students doing a genius hour project, positive feedback has to be consistent so students can stick with the project till completion.
The following week, with the same nervous hesitation, I arrived at the parking lot ready for my next lesson. He explained that I have to make sure that my right pedal is high and push hard to gain momentum and my left foot should slowly find its place. That seemed easier to comprehend when it was outlined in basic steps like that. I tried really hard to push the right pedal, it didn’t work. I kept on trying and it finally DID work! I was pedaling, I was riding a bike! I did not fall! It was the best 15-20 seconds of exhilaration. The instructor stepped away and told me to keep on practicing. He was not hovering and he let me be. With every passing minute, with every push of the pedal, I got better and better. I stayed on the bike for minutes now, not just seconds. I turned and controlled my stop with the brakes. I swerved between cars and still stayed on! I learned how to ride! I’m so thankful that EEND713 and with my professor’s encouragement, I was able to conquer this lifelong dream of mine, to have the ability to ride and hopefully enjoy riding with my family. I have to keep on practicing before I’m road ready, and that’s the key for anything, practice makes progress!