09/07/2026
‘I’m a 55 year old woman and I’ve never learnt to ride a bike – said it outloud. It’s an embarrassing thing to admit, or to talk about – people are always so surprised, wide-eyed when (and if) you ever tell people about it.
I had a bike when I was 5 – but my whole family either were too scared or too busy to ever take the stabilisers off. When I grew out of that little bike, money was tight, so I never got another one. I had ‘backies’ on friends’ bikes with one ending in an accident which is probably where the avoidance of all bikes stemmed from.
It’s not a total life disaster not being able to ride a bike, but it puts some limits on things. I couldn’t go for a bike ride with friends or have a bike activity on a holiday. It’s frustrating; I can swim, I can drive a car, I can ride a horse. I just couldn’t ride a bike.
So, when I saw the Brighton Bike Hub’s course and it actually said, ‘Learn to ride a bike’ I thought I could do it finally. It was so amazing to be with other people of all ages and backgrounds who also couldn’t ride a bike. They understood the embarrassment, the fear, the lack of confidence to try it.
That first lesson was hard work – physically and mentally learning new skills. But the instructor, Poppy, was just the best teacher – she was patient, understanding, not preachy about cycling and she cared that we were always comfortable. At the end of that first lesson I got it and I rode a bike!! (I have the video to show it). It was such an amazing feeling to finally be able to do what other people take for granted.
I did the first ‘learn to ride’ course in May, came back in June and booking for July. I can now get on a bike and ride it. I am still learning to control it and signal and might even go on an actual cycle lane on the road next month. But how amazing is that? I’m now going to buy a bike, practice more and maybe aspire to the dream to go on a family bike ride one day soon.
Whether it’s cycling or something else that you’ve never done or mastered I can prove it’s never too late to try.’
Book one of our August cycle training courses for just £10 per session here: http://brightonbikehub.eventbrite.com/
