Can You Forget How to Ride a Bike?
Biking is a complex skill that requires various muscles to coordinate and work together. Many of us learn to ride a bike from a young age and stop riding as we grow older. Biking is a valuable skill that will serve you throughout your lifetime.
So can you forget how to ride a bike? It depends. For most people, it’s nearly impossible to forget how to ride a bike. That’s because of our brain’s procedural memory, a type of long-term memory which stores physical tasks. However, some people who have suffered physical trauma to their brains, such as a stroke, dementia, amnesia, or another brain injury, may need to re-learn how to ride a bike.
This guide will dive deeper into why most people won’t forget how to ride a bike. However, it’ll also cover instances where you may have to re-learn it.
Can You Forget How to Ride a Bike?
Learning to ride a bike isn’t an easy feat. However, forgetting how to ride is even harder. Even after decade-long hiatuses, cruising can still feel like a breeze. The key to this phenomenon is how the brain remembers tasks.
Your brain’s motor cortex plans and executes precise muscle control. In addition, the brain helps you balance and time your pedal strokes. Finally, the basal ganglia keep these movements fluid rather than jerky. The skill persists precisely because of this enormous amount of coordination between the mind and the muscles.
Riding a bike and other sports require using every muscle movement and brain connection. It’s truly a skill that lasts a lifetime.
Why You Never Forget How to Ride a Bike
Even if you haven’t ridden a bike for a long time, it quickly becomes natural when you don’t think about it. Similar to jogging, your body acts on its own, and your mind is free to think about other things. However, you must first master the balance of coordinating the various motor skills before these instincts become habitual.
So how is it possible that you don’t forget how to ride a bike? Your brain stores riding a bike in its procedural memory. Simply put, this is where your brain remembers how to do things, specific tasks that involve motor skills and cognition, such as riding a bike or driving a car. Comparatively, declarative memory is where you store concepts like a friend’s birthday or the state capital.
Procedure memory belongs to a category of memories known as implicit memories. You can recall implicit memories based on your past experiences without having to think about them. It’s the same with playing an instrument, driving, or speaking your native language. Once you’ve learned how to do it, you don’t have to learn all the technical intricacies of how to do it. It simply comes naturally.
Our brains store information from procedural memory in our subconscious, so it’s very difficult to forget. Our brains are hard-wired to remember physical actions, especially ones that require extensive coordination of various muscle groups.
Cases Where You Need to Learn Again
While you most likely won’t forget how to ride a bike, there are some rare instances where you may have to re-learn the skill. This is typically caused by strokes, brain injuries, and other physical issues that impact your ability to carry out specific movements or balance properly. In these cases, you’ll have to re-learn the skill and adapt to those conditions. However, that’s not the same as forgetting how to ride a bike altogether.
Depending on the circumstances, people can be affected in different ways, such as:
- Some of their body parts may become unresponsive or lose their ability to feel objects
- There may be partial numbness or paralysis, along with dizziness or disorientation.
There is a difference between re-learning something and forgetting it. Suffering from debilitating physical symptoms means you can’t ride the bike like you’re used to. However, you can still re-learn it to fit your existing conditions.
People experiencing these kinds of symptoms, especially avid cyclists, have a variety of options. People with conditions that impair their ability to ride a regular bicycle have access to a wide array of unique bicycles, such as adult tricycles and hand-peddled bikes.
People undergoing rehabilitation after an injury can also benefit from biking as part of their physiotherapy. It may be necessary to start with a stationary bike and then move on to a regular bike. If you need to re-learn how to ride a bike, there are many solutions available.
Will Aging Make You Forget How to Ride a Bike?
As you age, you may begin to struggle with memory loss, which is completely normal. This may include forgetting the names of your favorite movie or the name of your distant cousin. However, other types of memory loss can be much more serious.
Procedural memory tends to be less affected by aging than other types of memory. That means you’re more likely to remember to ride a bike even as you age. Keep in mind you’ll tend to lose muscle strength and have physical limitations as you age, causing you to have to re-learn how to ride a bike. So what about mental conditions like dementia and amnesia? Do they affect your ability to remember how to ride?
Dementia
Getting older is associated with more serious conditions related to memory loss, most notably dementia. Memory loss is a major symptom of dementia, which involves serious mental deterioration. There is a good chance that you will remember how to ride a bike even if you have dementia. Dementia affects declarative memory in a similar manner to amnesia and aging.
Many people who’ve suffered from dementia still were able to maintain their procedural memories since these types of memories are more strongly retained in the brain than others. These conditions, however, would hinder a person’s ability to comply with traffic laws and navigate traffic.
However, damage sustained to the brain is always a tricky issue. This depends on the region affected and the extent of the damage. Fortunately, procedural memories usually stick around for longer and aren’t easily lost, even through brain damage. These are the memories that are used by the basal ganglia, the center of the brain, meaning they’re less vulnerable.
As you get older, your physical condition will be a more relevant challenge. Rather than forgetting how to ride a bike, you are more likely to have a physical condition restricting your ability to do so. In order to be maintained, cognitive abilities and physical skills must be utilized. Bike riding still is a great way to stay in shape as you age, especially since it is a low-impact workout you can set your own pace.
Amnesia
Amnesia is another serious health condition that may impact the way you ride a bike. There are many different causes of amnesia, including brain injury, stroke, psychological trauma, and alcohol abuse. The severity of amnesia varies, but most cases resolve without treatment. The ability to ride a bike would still be retained even if you had amnesia.
A person may have forgotten where they live or the date, but they will remember how to ride a bike. Amnesia impairs a different type of memory. When an individual has amnesia, they lose declarative memory, which is the type of memory that stores details such as dates and names. This does not affect procedural memory, which stores information like how to ride a bike.
Frequently Asked Questions
Here are the most commonly asked questions about forgetting how to ride a bike.
How do I learn to ride a bike as an adult?
The best way to learn to ride a bike is to have an instructor. There are professional cycling instructors that teach adults. A common method is to start riding the bike without using pedals, just pushing off the ground, then start using one pedal, then start using both pedals. The gradual approach allows learners to practice balancing before worrying about pedaling.
Can I re-learn how to ride a bike after a stroke or brain injury?
It’s possible to re-learn to ride a bike, depending on your physical symptoms. You may regain some abilities through physiotherapy. There are also specialized bikes that can be used depending on your physical abilities.
Is Riding a Bike Muscle Memory?
Muscle memory can be developed by practicing skills such as quick stops, which will enhance your safety and enjoyment of riding. Additionally, it will teach you how to handle your bike in different situations, including emergencies. The best way to improve your riding is to practice, even if you have been riding for years. Your riding skills can also be enhanced by taking advanced riding classes.
Researchers have discovered that muscle memory is created through a complex process in which the brain is involved both in learning new tasks and in recalling old ones. Repetition reinforces neural pathways, which are quickly re-created. Repetition is the key to muscle memory.
Biking is a complex activity. To balance, pedal, and brake, repeated actions are required. Over time, this creates muscle memory, where your body remembers how to use the same neural pathways to perform those physical actions.
Wrapping It Up
If it’s been years since you’ve set foot on a bicycle, there’s good news. There’s a great chance that you won’t have to re-learn how to ride a bike.
Your natural instincts will kick in. Just like driving a car, playing guitar, or speaking your first language, riding a bike will always come naturally to you once you’ve mastered the skill.
If you’re concerned, we recommend starting slow with adult tricycles or training wheels. Maybe have someone watch over you the first time.
We hope you’ve found this guide helpful in the process of riding your bike again!
