My father taught me how to ride a bike in the JC Penneys parking lot across the street from our home on a Sunday afternoon. JC Penneys was closed on Sundays back then. There was plenty of open space for me to learn in. Later in life, he taught me how to drive a car in a high school parking lot when the school was closed. I always thought that once I learned how to do these things, I would never forget how. I didn’t forget how to do both of them, but riding my bike again at 65 would be a challenge.
Eventually, following surgery to remove a brain tumor, I had to drive my car again and see if I could do it successfully. That was easy, even though I waited months to do it. Riding my bike again at 65, following two surgeries, was more difficult.
I have a bike with a few dings from the previous owner’s crash that led to her never riding the bike again. That was my mom. She took a nasty fall and refused to ride again. She was over 80 at the time. I had a brain tumor removed, and I lost a portion of my balance with the tumor removal. Driving a car doesn’t really require balance. However, riding a bike does, unless you have training wheels. Unfortunately, in my 60s was not the time to strap on training wheels on my adult bike.
Something new to me this time around was the addition of wearing a helmet. When I was young and rode my bike a lot, I never wore a helmet. The state law in California did not require helmets back in the ’60s and ’70s for anyone, including children. In 1987, it became state law for children under five years old to wear a helmet. In 1994, it became a state law in California for those under 18. Even though I don’t need to wear a helmet by law, I need to because of my brain surgery. I wouldn’t dare ride my bike without it.
My post-surgery paperwork said I needed to wait six months to ride my bike and that I must always wear a helmet. So I could understand how much more important it was to protect my head since I had surgery.
One more surgery first
About 8 months after my surgery, I had a second surgery to attach a bone-attached hearing aide (BAHA) to my skull. Removing my brain tumor had also left me with no hearing in my left ear. I had the BAHA attached to give me the feeling that I could hear in my left ear. I thought I better wait until after that surgery before I went forward on my bike riding, just in case.
While walking, I had noticed that without the BAHA (bone-attached hearing aid), I could not determine where noises were coming from. I didn’t know if someone was mowing their lawn up ahead, to my left, right, or behind me. It was confusing but also scary. I felt it was a prime time in my life for someone to come up from behind me and grab my purse or push me over. I couldn’t anticipate anything. This caused a lot of anxiety, and so I put off riding my bike.
To prepare for riding my bike, I had bought a helmet, and just in case riding became a regular thing for me, I bought a lock to use if I went to a store nearby.
It was about a year from my second surgery before I dared to ride my bike. Several falls while walking had reaffirmed that my balance was not back to normal and might never be back to normal. Another thing holding me back was that my bike was sitting in the garage, covered in dust and resting on two flat tires.
Riding my bike again
The day I took my mint-colored bike, with the basket on the front, out of the garage, and walked it down the driveway, I tried to remain confident. I had put my helmet on and realized I could not wear my BAHA with my helmet, which was troublesome since that limited me to only hearing out of my right ear, the ear facing the sidewalk, not the traffic. But, God had helped me through the whole brain tumor process. So, He could surely protect me while I was riding my bike.
Before starting, I had checked to make sure no vehicles were moving on my street. After taking a deep breath, I started pedaling my bike, keeping it close to the curb. I rode past four houses and then turned right on a small court. I turned around and stopped, since I had heard a vehicle approaching. It was a PG&E vehicle. I waited by the curb as the driver turned around on the street and headed in my direction. As I waited for him to go past where I was, I realized he was pulling over. So I double-checked to see if any other moving vehicles were nearby.
No vehicles, so I was free to go. I turned onto my road and pedaled my bike, remaining as close as possible to the sidewalk. Instead of crossing the street to go back home, I continued riding.
Panic
Suddenly, the ease I had at first had vanished. I was getting further and further away from the sidewalk. No cars were driving on my street, but I had forgotten how to maneuver the bike. Eventually, I made it to the curb and turned around, and went home.
During my panic moments, my husband said I was leaning to the right while trying to get back to the curb. I knew that was wrong, but I had forgotten to turn my steering wheel. That was enough for one day. After that, I was grateful I hadn’t fallen, and I had learned a few mistakes I was making. The next time, it would be easier.
Riding my bike again: second try
Today was the day I planned to ride my bike again, and this time I was going to use my handlebars to make right and left turns instead of my body. I checked my bike, and it was dirty and had flat tires. After looking for the needle for the pump, I finally found it. I already had my shoes and helmet on so I would not back out.
The back tire inflated easily. The front tire was more difficult. I think there is something seriously wrong with the tire. After several attempts, I gave up. I’ll have to wait until later when my husband gets home. However, I know I can do it. I had my route figured out, and I planned to use my handlebar to turn, instead of leaning in the direction I wanted to go. I’m disappointed I didn’t get to ride this morning, but I’m thrilled I’m not relieved. My confidence is back!
Do you have a bike? Is it sitting in your garage collecting dust, or do you ride it regularly? Leave a comment below, in the reply section, and let me know about your biking experience. I’m sure many of you out there ride your bike regularly, no matter your age. That’s great!
