Adult newbies

Great story in the Globe about a Somerville woman who teaches adults to ride bicycles. Watch the video, too.

Gas prices hovering above $4 per gallon have led to the busiest season so far for the woman known as Boston's Bike Whisperer, Susan McLucas, a 59-year-old chronic smiler with a reputation for teaching even the most fearful and frustrated adults to balance on two wheels. Enrollment in Bicycle Riding for Beginners, offered through the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, has nearly doubled since 2006. And demand for one-on-one lessons is on the rise as well.

Having just re-taught four-year-old daughter of NS&S how to ride, I wonder if there's a place in Ms. McLucas's work for an adult version of the child's walking bike (like the Like-a-Bike). The toughest thing to do is to learn how to balance, and the walking bike (a pedal-and-chain-less bike) lets young bikers-to-be build their skills and confidence at their own speed.

In any case, great work by Ms. McLucas, who says in the video that she hates what cars are doing to our cities. She has a website, too.