Riding a Bicycle, the Aunt Susan Way

Do you know how to ride a bicycle? If not, it might just be because your Daddy tried to teach you how, your Daddy who insisted that there is absolutely nothing to be afraid of when it comes to bike riding. This is the Daddy Way to teach a child to ride a bike. Another name for this concept is "Baptism by Fire."



1. Find a hill.
2. Take the bike to the top of the hill.
3. Put the rider on top of the bike.
4. Push the bike down the hill. Repeat as many times as necessary. Two or three should work.  If not, become increasingly irritated with each successive failure.
5. Boast that even though you don't quite understand why, this method will miraculously work.
6. If the rider makes it to the bottom of the hill without being transformed into a bloody pulp, congratulate yourself on your brilliant success in teaching her to ride a bike.  If she cries, simply remind her that this is the only way to learn.
7. Over the course of the next ten years, ask occasionally why she never takes her bike out to ride, since you did teach her how, after all.


Yes, I was a victim of the Daddy method (in my case, it was my nieces' daddy who last tried without success to teach me.  Come to think of it, my high school boyfriend wasn't any help, either. If he's a daddy now, I wouldn't know about that).


I do not recommend the Daddy method. It fails to account for the fact that someone who doesn't know how to ride a bike might have excellent cause to be afraid of it. Instead of scoffing at those fears, first one must help a potential rider overcome them, or else they will prevent her from ever learning to ride. What finally worked for me was the method one of my mother's friends employed, and it has worked with my daughters as well, and one of my nieces. I now call this the Aunt Susan way.


1. Take a bike wrench or other appropriate tool and adjust the seat of the bike to the lowest possible position. The rider should be able to place her feet securely on the ground while sitting comfortably on the seat. If the seat can't go that low, borrow a bike whose seat can go that low. Note: The owner of the bike may try advising you that the rider's feet should just barely touch the ground when her legs are straight. It is crucial that you IGNORE HIS ADVICE.
2. Set the bike at the top of a gentle hill. You can also use a flat surface that allows riding in both directions.
3. Set the rider on top of the bike seat. The rider should wear a good helmet, and if you can find knee pads, those would be useful, too, as they can protect her shins from being injured by the pedals.
4. Have the rider walk down the hill. Repeat as many times as necessary.
5. When the rider has developed some ability to balance, brake, and steer, start counting how many steps she takes.
6. If the rider can walk down the hill without falling off the bike, encourage her to take fewer steps each time.
7. When the rider feels serenely confident about her ability to balance the bike, suggest she experiment with putting her feet on the pedals and cranking them. Then, and only then, you can raise the seat to the height the bike owner or bike seller recommends.