Learn to ride with Cycle Buddie
Inspiring your children to get on their bikes and enjoy the freedom and independence it brings.
About CycleBuddie
My child has never even sat on a bike, are they able to join?
Yes. We happily welcome children of all abilities to our sessions. Although we don’t organise our session times based on ability, we assess the children during the first 15 minutes of the session and then split them into appropriate groups once they are there. Whether your child is a complete beginner or just needs a little boost, our sessions are perfect for them.
How old do children have to be to join sessions?
We usually take children from 3 years old, as we find this is when they are a little better at following instructions and have also developed the concept of completing full rotations of the pedals (which is something that comes with age). However we have taught some 2 year olds to ride.
Is my child too old to learn?
You’re never too old to learn. However we do understand that slightly older children may feel a little embarrassed at the idea of being in a session with lots of 3 and 4 year olds so we do our best to group our older children together and we do offer private sessions for children and 1-2-1 sessions.
Do you teach adults?
We do. We can even schedule adult sessions during school time when the parks are nice and quiet.
Are you trained for children with additional needs?
We have taught children from all different backgrounds, with all sorts of different needs. Although all of our instructors may not have specific training, we have a wealth of experience between us, and are more than happy to work closely with parents and carers to ensure each and every child has a successful and enjoyable experience with us.
Sessions
How many sessions will take for my child to learn?
We usually recommend booking 2 or 3 sessions however every child is different. However we never make any promises or guarantees - children may learn to pedal in their first session, others may need 5 or 6.
If my little one learns in the first session will the others be a waste of money?
Absolutely not. We usually find that even the children who do learn to pedal independently in their first session aren’t riding completely confidently. We have so many different skills that we can teach the children from riding one handed, to looking behind them. We never run out of skills to teach.
On the day
Do we need our own bikes and helmets?
We encourage children to bring their own bikes and helmets where possible. We find the transition from riding in our sessions to riding at home much smoother when they have learnt on their own bikes. However we do understand that parents like to wait until their child is riding before investing in a bike, so we do have a limited number of bikes and helmets in a range of different sizes, for children to use during our sessions.
Do we need stabilisers?
At CycleBuddie we don’t do any work with stabilisers. Our whole programme is designed around improving balance before even using any pedals. So no stabilisers are needed.
Do parents stay?
Parents are more than welcome to stay and watch our sessions. We understand how much you want to be part of your child’s journey to learning to ride. Equally, we also understand how much easier it is to get your shopping done when child free, so you’re more than welcome to leave your child with us too. Parents do not join in with any part of our sessions. Just leave it up to us and just stand back and enjoy.