Inspirational stories: Caroline
Caroline, age 10.
I was contacted by Caroline’s auntie to teach her to ride a bike. They had not long arrived in Scotland from USA and found it hard to find a bike during lockdown. I serviced the second hand bike they bought and went out to meet Caroline for our first lesson. She was bright eyed, fun and laughed a lot! However, she was frightened of falling over and found it hard trust the physics of making the bike move forwards.
On her first lesson, she wore a pretty handbag over her shoulder and didn’t like sitting on the seat. Pedals were something that just got in the way and any bumps on the ground seemed to be an enormous black hole to Caroline. But what struck me was her mindset. Despite all these fears, she was able to digest all my instructions intensely and applied them quickly. I knew that by our 3rd lesson we were going to be riding our bikes together. Caroline has a unique trait that I see occasionally. She simply believes she can do it after being told she can. Lesson 3 came and we walked our bikes to the cycle path and she was off! We rode all the way along the path, past her school and whooped and cheered all the way in the rain! She was even challenging me to to a race! We were both covered in mud, soaking wet and grinning ear to ear with pure joy! Most of my learn to ride lessons are with 3 - 5 year olds, but meeting Caroline age 10 with her own set of ‘developed’ fears was almost purely a mindset game. I believed in her and she showed bravery, resilience and determination to get over these fears. Now she wants to open her own bike shop!!! Inspirational indeed!
1. When did you start riding a bike?
I got my first bike when I was 5. Just when I was ready to take off the training wheels, we moved. I didn't get another chance to ride until this summer, with Leanne from A wee pedal. I couldn’t ride at all, but I learnt pretty fast. I was excited but scared at first, but now it's so much fun!
2. How do you feel when you are out on your bike?
I love the feeling of the wind in my face - especially when I go really fast. It's so refreshing and I feel like I'm flying!
3. What are your ambitions for the future?
I want to be a teacher because I love little kids. I would love to be good enough at bike riding to teach it to others someday. Also,I want to be an entrepreneur, so maybe I could open my own bike shop.