On a quiet path in a sunny, grassy park, six women are playing an unusual game of limbo. All on bicycles, they lean as far forwards as they can without dropping their gaze or whacking their heads on a foam pool noodle as they ride underneath it.
The women, aged from their late 30s to early 60s, all pay fierce attention to this task. There are some wobbles, some stops and starts, but that’s to be expected: many of them haven’t been on a bicycle in years. Some never learned to ride at all. They’re here to change that.
This is day two of the Women’s Learn to Ride class, put on by the City of Whittlesea in northern Melbourne. Last week, the women were fitted to bikes and began getting their balance by scooting along with their feet off the ground. Some started pedalling. Today, they are learning to turn, to keep their balance while navigating hazards such as low branches (or pool noodles), and changing gears.
When her students have finished a few rounds of limbo, cycling instructor Mara Ferraro explains the benefit of the “pelvic lift” – elevating yourself off the bike seat – to help with hill climbs, and to avoid being uncomfortably rattled by bumps.
“This is the next phase for you that I think is mega, mega important in terms of your balance,” Ferraro says. “Your legs are becoming like suspension in the car.”
Ferraro’s business, Cycle Strength n’ Fun, conducts learn-to-ride classes for schools, councils, community groups and individuals. The 58-year-old self-described “grandmother wearing Lycra” has taught adults of all ages, and is a fervent advocate for older people, and women in particular, to start cycling.
“Six or seven years ago, the attitude on the roads [to cyclists] was really bad. I think it’s better now and there’s lots more cycling infrastructure now. But I thought, if we’re going to calm the roads down, we need to get more women on the roads,” Ferraro says. “Nobody wants to run over their grandma, or their mum, or their sister.”
Others appear to agree: demand for her services has boomed in the past 18 months. She expects that to only increase as the fuel crisis continues and people seek out cheaper and more environmentally friendly modes of transport.
“Schools are hiring us, local councils are finding money for behaviour change as part of their active transport strategies,” Ferraro says. “It’s the golden age of people getting back on their bikes.”
‘The feeling is great’
Oge, 39, had never been on a bicycle until now. She signed up as part of a desire to explore new kinds of recreation: “Things that I can do for me, self-care,” she says. “I started learning swimming last year, and now I’m doing bikes. I’m just picking up skills that I’ve always wanted to do.”
Rabia, 40, decided to learn after her nine-year-old daughter, who has a disability, participated in Ferraro’s children’s classes. “I thought if I learn then maybe I can help her, because she needs more time and patience,” Rabia says. The health benefits of cycling were an extra motivation.
Rabia surprised herself by picking up the basics quickly. “I never thought I was going to be able to do it on day one. And it was really quite exciting.”
Sisters Vicki, 59, and Maria, 60, rode as children, but realised how rusty they had become after a recent island holiday that required them to use bicycles to get around.
“I did this to try to see if I can develop some skills and feel confident on the bike, because even though I can ride I don’t feel super confident,” says Vicki.
“When you’re a kid you just get on a bike and you ride, you don’t think about it. And now having to think about that is strange … But the feeling is great. I love that feeling, just being free when you’re riding.”
No age barrier
It’s an exhilaration that seems to linger, not just from adrenaline but from renewed self-confidence.
Jane, 67, and Karen, 75, speak to Guardian Australia a few weeks after participating in a cycling refresher course in March, held for women over 50 by Stonnington council and instructors from Bike it Better.
Jane hadn’t ridden a bike since Covid lockdowns, and when she tried to get back on it last year, she found that it’s not entirely true that you never lose your ability to ride a bike. She hadn’t totally lost the skill, but what used to come instinctively just didn’t any more.
“I rode around the block, got to the bottom of a hill on the footpath, realised I hadn’t put the right gear on early enough, so I just fell off,” she laughs. “It must have looked so bad – a lady stopped her car and ran over to make sure I was all right.”
Jane says she was “stunned” at how much difference the refresher tuition made. “Things like how to brake smoothly, how to brake in an emergency, how to turn with your knee out – all this stuff you did as a kid or when you were confident … I was just thrilled to bits with it. I came away feeling totally buzzed.”
Karen also knew how to ride, but her confidence was low and she was worried about her balance, which meant the electric bikes she and her husband had bought during Covid lockdowns were gathering dust in the shed.
“That first ride was challenging … It’s hard to get back on it when you are in your 70s. You’re thinking of all these other things that could go wrong. But once you get going, it’s good,” she says. “It was a lot of fun.”
Secondhand solutions
At the end of the Whittlesea course, all the participants will get to keep one of the secondhand bikes they are riding, which have been refurbished by the Eltham Men’s Shed specifically for the program.
Ferraro says she wanted to make it as seamless as possible for the students to keep pedalling.
“I identified many years ago, when we were running these programs, that one of the biggest barriers was not having a bike,” she says. “Buying a new bike now is ridiculously expensive, and trying to negotiate a secondhand bike, if you have no knowledge about bikes and what’s best suited for you, is really daunting.
“They’re a little bit old, but as a starting bike, to get you moving, I think they’re adequate. And then if people really want to take it on and go look for a lighter bike or the newer one, then at least they’ve got the experience of what it’s like and they can build on that.”
