Learning to ride a bicycle is good for everyone

City of Espoo, Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, Sustainable Transport Division

Date: 3 July 2025

Written by: Jeremi Vahtera, Coordinator of Cycling Courses 2025

There is a surprising need for adult bicycle courses, as there are many adults who never learned to ride a bicycle. These courses are an opportunity to learn in a safe environment, promote equality and support the goals of sustainable development. Cycling frees you to move at your leisure, provides a sense of community and joy – no matter how old you are or where you’re from.

Bike after bike zooms past me on my walk to the store.
For a long time, I thought this was a mundane, obvious part of city life.
Then, I landed a summer job at the City of Espoo and was given responsibility for coordinating bike-riding courses for adults. I began to realise that there are so many people in Finland who never learned to ride a bicycle, even as adults.

Espoo is one city that has realised this need, with good reason. Many never learned to ride a bike due to a life event, structural issues, or cultural reasons. At cycling courses for adults, participants get to practice how to ride a bicycle in a safe, encouraging environment, at their own pace.  Cycling courses for adults are rare and Espoo’s courses see participants from neighbouring cities as well.

This is the third summer in a row that the City of Espoo has held cycling courses. The courses are held at Espoon keskus and each session allows six participants. We ask participants to join two sessions on average. That is often enough to learn the basics and gives room for as many people as possible to take part.

At our cycling courses, we start at the basics: our bicycles transform into kick bikes by folding the practice pedals upwards. This way, participants can start to get a handle on balance and steering. After that, they can move on to pedalling. When they have a grasp of the basics, we move on to traffic culture and the rules of the road and start to encourage the participants to ride on their own. In addition to myself, the courses have coaches as instructors. Many of them are from an immigrant background. The courses have mainly been Finnish and English, but sometimes, other languages like Hindi or Urdu have been helpful as well.

Not everyone knows how to ride a bike. It’s not necessarily that they never learned as children or had a bad experience that’s made them afraid. For some, it may be a health reason. Others may simply not have thought that learning to ride was necessary. Adults of all ages have joined our courses – our oldest so far was 87 years old! Some had never hopped on the saddle, others had wanted more practice or learn the rules of the road.

This summer, I learned that the participants are from incredibly diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds, all with different starting points, no matter what their language skills or education might have been. Some were never given the chance to learn because of laws or cultural norms back home. Many countries restrict or even ban women from riding a bicycle. It may have not been possible to ride because of poor infrastructure, personal finances or other living conditions. One learner described their home region in Nepal, where steep, unpaved mountain roads are not exactly inviting for learning to ride a bicycle. Despite the lack of cycling skills being often associated with immigrants, our participants are from all kinds of backgrounds, including people that were born in Finland or who had already lived here for a long time.

For many adults, a bicycle is not just a new way to get somewhere: it’s freedom, independence, and belief in yourself. Cycling can be incredibly empowering. It makes you less dependent of others, cars, and public transport. On a bike, you can travel freely, join events and activities, and go places with your family exactly when you want to.

“I loved every second of the course! I could not imagine being able to actually ride, especially in such a short time. I thought it’d be frustrating, but I had a fantastic instructor and ended up having so much fun! They did an excellent job to guide and encourage me, step by step. They were an excellent observer and support. I will be forever grateful.”

                            -Translated anonymous feedback from the 2025 course

One participant said that they want to teach their own children to ride. Having learned as an adult, they had a different kind of understanding of the process and how important it can be. That may allow them to be more gentle, patient and clear than many who never stopped to consider how you learn to ride a bicycle.

Riding a bike is a part of Finnish culture and most of us really do learn it as a child. That means these courses are also a way to help with integration into Finnish culture and society. They can also be places to find peer support, to create new social contacts, and sometimes even to make new friends.

One of the City of Espoo’s strategic goals is to reduce traffic emissions. In the city organisation, the courses are held by the Centre of Excellence for Sustainable Development, whose tasks include boosting the mode share of cycling. Cycling courses for adults are a part of that.

Working at the City of Espoo, I have learned that the city promotes the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals in its role as a pioneer city. Cycling courses for adults are a practical measure towards this goal. Sustainable development(external link, opens in a new window) is an ongoing societal change that aims to secure an opportunity for a good life for current and future generations with equal attention for the environment, humans and the economy.

Is Espoo’s goal to become carbon-neutral by 2030. To achieve that goal, cycling plays an important role, as it reduces traffic emissions and enables affordable and independent mobility. The courses are of particular importance for social sustainability: they improve well-being, support integration, and promote equal opportunities to participate in our society. It has been rewarding to develop these sustainable development goals, among others, through the cycling courses:

Goal 3: Good health and well-being: Through support for active lifestyles, easy participation in physical activity, and social well-being

Goal 4: Quality education:Learning a concrete day-to-day skill and traffic and safety rules.

Goal 5: Gender equality: Supporting equality by promoting independence, self-esteem and participation, particularly through more free mobility for women.

Goal 10: Reduced inequality Opportunity to participate and integrate, reducing the risk of exclusion.

Goal 11: Sustainable cities and communities: Support for zero-emission mobility as well as easy and safe everyday lives.

After the courses?

I encourage all participants and anyone with an interest in cycling to continue practicing. It will boost your ability and make riding more and more natural. I recommend starting to practice in a calm environment. Remember to review the rules of the road for cyclists(external link, opens in a new window) and study the cycling etiquette(external link, opens in a new window). Maybe even one participant will learn that riding a bike is not just an activity for adrenaline heads – it’s for everyone.

Espoo is a good city to ride a bike, even with the long distances. Its infrastructure is always improving: consistent bike lanes, bike parking, and good routes make riding easier and safer. HSL’s city bikes(external link, opens in a new window) are also widely available in Espoo and Helsinki.

This summer’s cycling courses are over. Keep your eyes peeled and ears open next year for new courses. Helsinki Region Cyclist Association (HEPO(external link, opens in a new window)) also holds similar, free courses. We will be holding a few bike maintenance courses in the late summer. Read more about winter cycling through the enhanced winter maintenance routes and the weather station pilot. Keep an eye on the Cycling Week(external link, opens in a new window) programme in the spring: There are sure to be many events, group rides and courses.

My thanks to all the coaches and participants for this summer. You have helped to make it an unforgettable and sunny season for all. I hope to see you again, perhaps in the saddle.

Jeremi Vahtera
City of Espoo cycling course coordinator and summer worker 2025