Ciao a tutti, come dice il titolo. Sono 31F di un paese extra UE e studio in Germania. Non ho mai avuto l’opportunità di imparare ad andare in bicicletta da bambino perché nel mio paese d’origine vivevo in un quartiere che non era adatto alle biciclette. Molte auto veloci sfrecciano lungo la strada a tutta velocità tutto il giorno. Ma ho sempre desiderato imparare, e grazie a un corso gratuito di bicicletta per principianti presso la Hochschule in cui sto studiando, ho potuto imparare 🙂 Un ringraziamento ai miei istruttori/allenatori tedeschi, sono stati super incoraggianti. Non dimenticherò mai i loro nomi. Con il loro aiuto, ho potuto imparare in appena 1 ora.
Se ci sono altri adulti là fuori che per qualche motivo non hanno avuto la possibilità di imparare, direi di provarci. Potrebbe anche essere più facile da fare da adulto se capisci un po’ i meccanismi di funzionamento della bicicletta. Viel Glück!
Modifica: alcune persone mi chiedono quale sia stato il consiglio migliore che mi ha aiutato a imparare. Per me, penso che sia stato capire la meccanica dello sterzo. Anche il mio allenatore di ciclismo lo ha spiegato molto bene. Ecco un bellissimo video di Veritasium che lo spiega. Lo consiglio vivamente se vuoi imparare a guidare:
https://youtu.be/9cNmUNHSBac?si=NqVgVwf_SGrVNXER
I learned how to ride a bicycle in Germany as an adult
byu/minzbunz ingermany
di minzbunz
16 commenti
I’m so glad to hear it! Have fun on your bike!
good job, you can be proud of yourself
That’s awesome! Germany might not be the best place for cyclists in the world, but it’s still way better than my country too. I hope you have a lot of fun with your new skill!
Brilliant, well done! Also, in just one hour, very nice. There are some adults in Germany that never learnt to ride a bike and that would be too uncomfortable and scared to try to learn, so you should be proud of your bravery as well as your new skill!
Make sure you get more practice, also trying different ways of turning (lean vs turning the handle bars). This will help with confidence and safety, especially when it gets slippery or wet.
So you had bad parents who never taught you how to ride a bike because you are a female and you had to learn it as an adult through tax money programs.
I am from Syria, and I can relate to how bad parents are compared to German parents.
how my father “taught” me riding a bike : My father just pushed me while I was on a bike downhill and yelled, “Just balance yourself.” I never learned how to swim because he almost drowned me when I was 10
Just don’t forget to get acquainted with German traffic rules, too, if you plan to ride on public roads. We don’t want you to get hurt because of thinking you have priority where you don’t have. And never assume that cars will always give you your right of way. And be aware of pedestrians, don’t treat them as badly as some car drivers treat you!
This is so cool!! Occasionally when I ride a bike I have this random thought like “omg I don’t know how I would learn this from scratch, it’s just an instinct now” because it’s objectively kinda scary when you think about riding at high speed on two very thin wheels at perfect balance. I think people underestimate it if you were taught as a child with training wheels and much closer to the ground height wise, haha. You can be super proud of yourself!
This is so wholesome 🥹 Congratulations 🥳
same for 27M Amsterdam
Any tips? I’m meeting a colleague (ca. 30 F) in a few hours to try and teach her. I watched the Tom Scott video (but he had learned it as a child) and a few others.
What was the most important thing for you?
It’s interesting how much we take for granted. I learned to cycle as a young boy, because that was as normal as learning to walk. When the refugee crisis began in 2015, one of the sights we had to get used to in our village was that of adults — mostly women, because they came from strongly patriarchal societies — taking their first wobbling bike rides staying as close to fences as they could.
Please get a personal liability insurance in case you bump into something
In one hour? How?
ig cycling is not the only thing you have learnt here. You are growing, as a student myself coming from pakistan i have learnt tons of stuff and living in a new lifestyle.
happy for you. Best of luck
Congratulations 🥹 I’ve been struggling to learn as an adult, too. Your story reminds me to give it a try again. My biggest worry are other cyclists. I live in Munich and the bike lanes get so so busy sometimes and some people have no patience. When people overtake me I get into a mini panic attack and have to stop the bike, it’s not great. Also driving on roads next to cars. I definitely have some anxieties to overcome but I feel like I would be much happier learning in a quiet village haha.
This is great! Kudos to you! It’s such a great skill to have. My daughter learned at age 19 here in Germany as well. She refused to learn in our former home country because the streets were not as safe (no bike lanes, etc). She commutes to and from her job now, and loves it.