Learning to ride a bike?

I can blade Gina. I can also ice skate, snowboard and surf. Do you think 6 people total in the house is enough for street hockey or alley hockey in our case?

--Sara

You could play with that....1 tender 2 per side....you could have 2 goals that way...or divvy it up where you have 1 goal and tender and 2 on 3 and divvy the teams so that the 3person one has a skill player to even out the "talent level' [] Heh...my bloods up now...I wanna play!
 
DH and I use to play 1 on 1 back before kiddos...when we were in an apt. Here we're on a hill so we'd need to truck the gear down to the school to play...but hmm....think we might do that some weekend soon!

There is no better sport than hockey, IMO.  But beware, even in a "friendly" family game of hockey tempers can flare.  Just remember to leave it on the rink![]

I never learned to ride as a kid because the town I grew up in (Ocean Beach) was a lot like Berkeley - a lot of hills, a lot of traffic and no bike lanes.  I learned when we moved to Davis by having another adult run along behind me balancing the bike ... and if you don't think all the kids were laughing at that one. I've never managed to feel really comfortable and secure on a bike and decided many years ago that walking is much better, and safer, for me.
 
Joyce

ORIGINAL: SaraD

ORIGINAL: rwbeagles

Totally spot on Sara...kids are instinctual fallers...they fall in a manner to minimize injury....
Adults are egotistical fallers...they fall in a manner to minimize public embarrassment! Usually leads to more injuries! []

I also wonder if adults lose the instincts to fall correctly.

--Sara

In my Movement For Actors class (I'm a Theatre Ed. major) we talked about this. When we're babies we all know how to move and fall in the way that minimizes the damage to our body as well as the energy required. Ever wonder why you get so tired after picking up after your kids? You're leaning over, bending at the waist, right? Next time you can, watch a baby pick something up...babies don't bend at the waist at all, they bend at the knee...they won't get tired as quickly.

As we grow up, our parents tell us to "Stand up straight, put your shoulders back." That's anatomically wrong. Our shoulders are supposed to hang off the sides of the body. Not the front or the back, like most of us carry them. I could go on and on (a good thing, I guess, because I have a final on it next week.)

If you want to know more, google the Alexander Tecnique...and if you have chronic aches and pains...see if you can find a practictioner.

My advice would be to straddle the bike and push off with both feet. Don't worry about peddling until you have the balance and steering down pat. When you can do that, then put your feet on the peddles and use them to keep the momentum going. Thats all they are for. Wear shoes that fit well and don't feel like they are slipping. Tuck your pants into your socks if you need to.

You have got good advice on how to get started.  Just keep in mind that riding a bike is a lot like life. You will fall but as long as you are willing to get back up & try again, you will not fail.