[TxCyclist]

Make sure to take her somewhere relaxing and without obstacles at first.

Worse part of learning anything new is having to do with in an non-fun environment.

[soccert]

great

[JTGYK]

I'm so glad that she remembers more than she thought she would!!!
I remember my first ride after years off the bike....it felt like joy, freedom,and flying all in one.
I remember giggling like a fool as I carved the corners, slaloming through a looong line of supports for shaded parking in a large lot.
Ah!
Good times!

[Cptn_Jon]

The wife and I each have a Recumbent Trike. The wife underwent hip replacement and spinal surgery in the summer of 2009. While in Arizona for this past winter season for 2009 we rode over 500 miles on the trikes. Upon our return home in April I had a homebuilt recumbent completed and enjoy it very much. With back/hip/wrist/balance problems I would highly recommend looking at a recumbent Trike (no balance problems). Here is a link to the build of me LWB recumbent. By all means keep it slow and easy getting her back on a bike/trike.

New WildKat Recumbent Bike Build

[kneedrachen]

We'll probably stick to our block for now, we live on a horse-shoe block in a quiet development with super-low traffic. She doesn't want to tackle the bike lanes by the boardwalk just yet and I'm not going to push her for fear of turning her off to riding; I'll let her dictate the pace. We'll see what happens!

Thank You all again for your suggestions and support, it has been a great help. This is what makes TwoSpoke such a great place to be!

[BeginnerCycling]

Congratulations, that is great! My wife has back issues also, and has also had shoulder issues stemming from a car accident. Once her shoulder gets better, I'd like to get her to try some bikes -- she's apprehensive, but it would be great if she could ride with me and our 2 kids.

[photosbymark]

Encourage every chance you get. Don't ever push. Most people are like my wife. If I push she pushes back. When she pushes back, she wins every time. For people with back issues recumbents are often the way to go, but not for everyone. Some find a great deal of benefit with the back support, but others find the bumps get transferred through the spine. For the timid the trike might offer a bit of extra peace of mind. For those with shoulder issues a recumbent would be one way to take that issue out of the picture.

When you see some way to help a new rider, instead of "you are doing this wrong" how bout, "I find this works better for me for this reason. Try it and see if it works for you too." The rule of thumb when you teach is look for something good first. It may be small but find something and something that is true. Then comes the this might work for you too time. Then always end with something positive.

[BeginnerCycling]

Originally Posted by photosbymark

When you see some way to help a new rider, instead of "you are doing this wrong" how bout, "I find this works better for me for this reason. Try it and see if it works for you too." The rule of thumb when you teach is look for something good first. It may be small but find something and something that is true. Then comes the this might work for you too time. Then always end with something positive.

Good advice. When I used to teach college classes, this was called a "bad news sandwich" -- words of encouragement before and after, and in the middle the "you might consider doing __ differently".

[biker_on_a_budget]

Nike says it best, "Just do it."

[SixtyPlus]

Glad to hear you say your wife "took off like a bandit". Me and my wife are just getting back into cycling after many years. I've had my bike about a month longer than she, so my confidence level is a bit beyond hers right now. But, I have watched and coached and seen her go from a short ride to almost 9 miles for her yesterday after only a week! She is still intimidated by going down hill, but is catching on very quickly.

It sounds like your wife is on her way and I bet you'll both be enjoying the ride real soon! Congrats!