Tag: Teaching children to ride a bike

Comparing Kids’ Bikes

The below is a simple comparison of some of the children’s bikes available in Adelaide, South Australia (Nov 2017). Features of: bike weight, handlebar & saddle height, and cost have been collated for your ease while looking for a new bike. Bike for kids – analysis (816kb)

It’s a Balancing Act

Seeing your children (or even grandchildren) ride around the park or getting out with them on a bike is one of those activities that leaves lasting memories for both young and old alike. But how do you transition children who have training wheels to a bike with 2 wheels and give them the cycling skills and confidence that are so important and valuable? This is a question Ride-a-Bike Right is often asked and like most good things in life it’s all about BALANCE. Balance is the fundamental cycling skill that needs to be mastered before anyone can learn to ride…

Y’ve Gotta Have ‘Heart’

When working with children in our learn to ride lessons it is often the case that I’m teaching a child aged 5-8 yo and for the majority they are open to learning new experiences – as this is what most of their life is about. Yet when I am asked to teach children 10+ it’s when I see children at their ‘rawest’ for kids at this age ‘know that they can’t ride’ and in their opinion this is something they will never be able to do. Then they meet Ride-a-Bike Right instructors. Last week, we started our 4wk cycling skills…

The Journey that Started it all – Three years ago

In 2011 Ride-a-Bike Right came to life as the AustCycle provider for SA’s Healthy Communities Initiative program; working with local councils to deliver courses to adults to increase fitness and activity rates amongst the population. Initially working with Playford Council delivering cycling skills to adults and the disability sector to get people back onto the bike (then expanding into Onkaparinga, Holdfast Bay, Marion and Renmark-Paringa Councils when they started HCI) we have since delivered over 60 programs to groups of adults. Moving into the children’s cycling domain we have been delivering our school as well as community programs to over…

Which Helmet Do I Buy?

Many people get confused between the 3 styles of helmets available to buy Bike helmet, Skater Style Helmet (‘bucket’) and, Skate Helmet (‘bucket’) 1 – Bike helmets have in Australia have been tested to the Standard AS/NZS 2063. These are the helmets legally required for riders on bikes.Hard shell, usually lots of ventilation holes, polyurethane foam inner and padding. 2 – Skater Style helmets are those that look like a Skate helmet but are actually bike helmets with the rating AS/NZS 2063. Hard shell, a few ventilation holes, polyurethane foam inner and padding. 3 – A SKATE helmet has a…

Get them the Right Bike for Christmas

Bike for kids – analysis (816kb) The year is hurrying along and I’m sure several of you are already getting a “Santa’s List” and many may include the ever popular new bike. Having taught many children over my time as a cycling instructor, I always feel the pleasure for children as they say when/where they got their wheels, but all too often it is bike that is not suitable for the child’s height or weight. Size: while kids might be able to wear a jumper that they can grow into, a bike is not the same. Children need to be…

Learning to Take a Chance

There’s a reason past eras referred to many tasks as ‘trying’, as its through trying that we learn how to succeed Over the past five years I’ve worked with many people who want to learn how to ride a bike and/or improve their current cycling skills. Since March this year Ride-a-Bike Right has been delivering a four-week program in school to children from Reception-yr 4. As someone who has been riding since I was four years old I always want to see young children being able to control and ride their own bikes; one of the goals in our schools’…