can you forget how to ride a bike

Can You Forget How to Ride a Bike or Its With You for Life?

Can you forget how to ride a bike – The saying ‘it’s just like riding a bike’ can be misleading and lead people to believe riding a bike is easy. The fact of the matter is, learning to ride a bike is harder for some people than it is for others, with some people even finding themselves forgetting how to ride a bicycle.

But why do people forget how to ride a bike? We’ve looked into some of the reasons and how to teach yourself to ride again. 

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Can People Forget How To Ride A Bike?

Although it is nearly impossible to forget how to ride a bike, there are some people out there that may have forgotten for whatever reason.

For example, someone may have started to ride a bike when they were young and fallen off, never to go back on a bike until a later age.

When it comes to riding a bike at an older age, this person may have forgotten how to ride their bicycle due to a lack of experience when they were younger.

However, for those who have ridden a bike for a long time and stopped, it’s virtually impossible to find yourself in a position where you’ve forgotten how to ride.

This is because something called procedural memory means that your brain has an easier time retaining the knowledge and the body language needed to ride a bike.

For example, a lot of people have recorded cases where they haven’t ridden a bike in years, or sometimes decades, and been able to ride again later on in life, despite having no practice for years.

When it comes to riding a bike, practice makes perfect. This way, you ensure that your body develops the instincts to remember how to ride a bike.

When you fall off, the best thing to do is get back up on the bike seat and start peddling away again.

The worst thing you can do is simply give up because it makes it harder for your brain to retain the information needed to be able to ride a bike. The more information your body has, the more chance it has at remembering.

For kids and beginners who want to start learning how to ride a bicycle, Start off with a pair of Silent Training Wheels to give you the confidence boost in riding.

can you forget how to ride a bike training wheels

What Is Procedural Memory?

Procedural memory is part of the long-term memory, which is responsible for knowing how to do things over a long period of time.

This can also be referred to as motor skills, which are associated with a lot of the things we physically do, like riding a bike.

The procedural memory stores information and uses the memories at a later date to remember how to perform procedures, as the name suggests.

Other examples can include talking, breathing, and even walking.

Other things that procedural memory helps with can be tasks like tying your shoelaces.

We’re usually taught how to tie our laces when we’re younger so that the brain can store the memory and remember the task for later use.

The tying of your shoes can then be like a routine that is there for you to complete every time you need to put on your shoes, ready to go for a walk or to do some exercise, for example. 

How To Ride A Bike

can you forget how to ride a bike elderly couple cycling

Of course, as previously mentioned, it’s hard to remember how to ride a bike if you never learned in the first place.

We’ve made a list of short tasks that you can follow to help you prepare yourself for riding a bike.

This way you can go on cycles across the country, mountain biking, and even have a better sense of balance for other tasks.

Find Your Balance

The most important part of riding a bike is ensuring that you have enough balance to stay on the vehicle once you get on.

The best way to do this is to sit on the bike with both feet on either side of the pedals.

Make sure that they are firmly planted on the ground so that you have much less of a chance to fall off and hurt yourself.

After doing this, make sure that both hands are gripped onto the handlebars, which is how you’ll be riding once you actually know how to ride.

Ride safely with this THE Certified Sweatsaver Helmet 

can you forget how to ride a bike safety helmet

The Perfect Start

To make sure that you get off to the easiest start possible, the best thing to do is lift your stronger foot onto the pedal closest to it.

Let’s pretend that you’re right-footed.

You’ll need to lift your right foot onto the right pedal and lean on your left leg on the other side of the bike. This makes sure that you have the right balance and sturdiness needed to start riding your bike.

Practice going from standing on the feet to this position a few times before physically starting to ride.

Soft Landings

Make sure that when starting to ride a bike, you have a soft landing on each side of you. When starting to ride, the most common area where you’ll fall off the bike is off to the side.

Make sure that you have a flat surface so that you don’t lose control of the bike and roll downhill.

It‘s best to take baby steps and slowly work toward a goal, rather than rush into it and end up hurting yourself.

Slowly But Surely

After you have one foot on the pedal and the other on the floor, you can push off with your weaker foot and start to pedal with your stronger one.

Lift your weaker foot onto the adjacent pedal and start to slowly move your feet forward until you start moving.

The smoother the surface you’re riding on, the easier it’ll be. From here, it’ll just be trial and error on how to find your balance.

Remember that knee pads, elbow pads, and bike helmets exist so be sure to take advantage of them!

Equip yourself with these Bike Knee, Elbow Pads with Wrist Guards Protective Gear Set to ensure your safety whilst learning.

can you forget how to ride a bike protective gear set

Final Thoughts

Remembering to ride a bike is all but ensured for almost anybody in the world. Because riding a bike comes from the procedural part of your memory, your brain relies on storing information for later use.

The more information that you can give to your brain, the more it has to go off.

If you haven’t had much experience with riding a bike then your bike then you’ll need to start slowly and work your way up toward becoming a confident cyclist.

Remember, always use a helmet and stay as safe as you can!

Can You Forget How to Ride a Bike or Its With You for Life?