Learn to ride a bicycle as an adult

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Learners of all ages at Bangalore Bicycling School. Summary ways for adults to learn to cycle are not much. But in Bengaluru, Ali Poonawala gives lessons every Sunday. He was right. Unconsciously, my arms ramrod became stiff and I held the bicycle bars tight, as if it were for the dear life. My feet were firmly planted on the ground, but I was a bundle of nerves as I sat on the bike and viewed the soft slope to go down with sadness. When other people turn 40, they set glorious targets such as running a marathon or going on a difficult pull. I decided to learn to ride a bike – child’s game for those who know it, but is no less intimidating than setting up a mountain for adults like me who don’t. Unlike management, formalized ways for adults to learn cycling are not much. Online searches led me to Bangalore Bicycling School (BBS), a complete effort to lead volunteers to teach adults how to bike for free. It was an initiative that I later learned that he had completed a decade this year. I sent the phone number called on the Facebook page, filled in a Google form and arrived at 8am on a Sunday at the designated place in Bengaluru’s Cubbon Park. The phone number belonged to Dr Ali Poonawala, a 68-year-old urologist and one of the moving spirits behind BBS. The Wiry Doctor will always be in Cubbon Park on Sunday mornings, as he has been for the past ten years, leading both adults and children. Also read: Finding the music you love BBS, he says, has arisen somewhat organically, a highlight of multiple factors. One was the ‘Cycle Day’ organized by the Karnataka government’s Directorate Urban Land Transport (Dult) around 2012-13, where a street would be blocked off for cycling and other street activities. There, Dr Poonawala and a few fellow cycling enthusiasts noted that there were adults who wanted to cycle but never learned. About the same time, Dult also facilitated free cycle rentals in Cubbon Park to promote the activity. BBS kicked off lessons with those cycles. In those early days there would be occasional Sunday when it would be just Dr Poonawala, the bikes and a few banners donated by Dult. But he persisted. Dr Poonawala’s intention to get to know adults was reinforced by something he noted during holiday in Kodaikanal, where families would rent cycles near the lake. “The father and children would go on cycling, while the mother would be left behind. I would feel upset because that’s not how it should be – everyone should ride a bike together. ‘ What he saw was another reflection of the gender gap in cycling in India. According to Census 2011, only 4.7% used women bikes to commute compared to 21.7% men, among the working population. A further analysis of cycling found internationally that ‘women could cycle a tenth on average compared to men in Indian cities’. The learner demographic at BBS also carries it out. Patankar, the instructor I first met and a regular volunteer, estimates that 80-90% of students are women. “We tried to ask why. What we saw is that some women just didn’t get the chance to learn when they were young non-perhaps no one in the family thought it was important to teach them. If they had male siblings, the boys learned from their friends, ‘says Patankar, who is in a true Bengaluru tradition, is also the co-founder of a software product firm. Other volunteers include professionals spanning software, real estate and financial sectors. When I later thought about his remark, I realized that it was true to me too – my brother learned to bike his friends while I didn’t. Also read: Pain, perseverance and teamwork: What I learned from my first Hyrox -Ren Patankar, the adult students broadly categorize. Those older than 50 for whom learn to drive are usually a goal of the bucket list. Those of 30-50 years, whose motivation is fit, for plots in the area or to ride with family and friends. And those under 30, who intend to graduate to a scooter. Dr Poonawala describes a typical learner as someone aged 35-40. “She feels she’s left out, watching online and finding us.” Again, me. Regardless of the category, Patankar says BBS offers a safe space. The need for this was reinforced by Dr Poonawala’s personal experience, when his wife, Dr. Fatima, wanted to learn cycling more than a decade ago. “I felt like I was missing out because he liked cycling,” said the 67-year-old who added that it took her different sessions, multiple trainers and bikes until the ‘Eureka moment’ ‘when she could do it on her own. Dr Poonawala jokes that men are the worst teachers, but the experience, he says, taught him that adult learners need a safe, non-judicial space. The group has developed training manuals and a teaching process that continues to develop. The biggest obstacle for an adult learner, as I can personally on average, is the fear of falling. “That fear gets as the person gets older,” says Dr Poonawala. Unlike children, adults may also come to other brakes and possibly luggage that have previous efforts. I had mine. The last time I tried to learn, I accidentally bumped into a senior citizen, who traumatized us both. It was only in my recent talks that I found out that my then coach, Anil Kadsur, was one of the founders of BBS who unfortunately passed away a year ago. It somehow felt right that I tried again with something he helped to start. Despite their braking, learners continue – including women in their 60s. On a phone call, Annapoorni (she requests that only her first name be used), who is now 74 and describes herself as a ‘health freak’, remembered that he felt nervous on his way to her first lesson. Knowledge that heard about her derring-do questioned why the then 66-year-old wanted to learn “at this age”. But within three-four sessions and despite a fall, she learned to drive. “I was over the moon,” she says, the excitement in her voice is even eight years later. Other memorable alumni include a group of women working in garment factories, taught in an initiative with Greenpeace. However, Dr Poonawala regrets that there was no follow-up to the non-profit part about whether the women were going to drive. In general, it was a challenge to track down whether learners kept cycling. “Some of the thousands who went through BBS training would drive the break regularly? I struggle with this question,” says Patankar, who estimates it would be a small share that even cycling once a month. Dr Poonawala says the lack of follow -up is a criticism of them, but adds that the volunteers have their limitations. With classes only on Sunday mornings, a cherished time, there is also a chew among trainers. Attempts to repeat the model in other parts of the city usually did not endure for more than a year. Currently, about three-four instructors come every Sunday of 8-10 hours to help 10-15 learners in different phases. Dr Poonawala and Patankar say they continue from their passion for cycling and ‘raising their tribe’. It helps that some alumni also work voluntarily. Among them is Aman Sabherwal, a 35-year financing professor. During a visit to Cubbon Park, she was convinced by Patankar to get on a bicycle for the first time since she was in an accident when she was six years old. Sabherwal says she is voluntary when she can. “That feeling to see others riding on their own and that smile on their faces makes me happy,” she says. I know that smile. This is the same as I flashed at the end of the first session when I found myself astonishment and excitement that I finally rode on a bike, all alone. Indulekha Aravind is an independent journalist. She farms @indulekha_a. 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