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Calvin hops on his bicycle again. Hobbes tells him that people say once you've learned to ride, you never forget. Calvin believes that. After he again crashes, he says it works on the same principle as electroshock therapy.

I doubt that people never forget to ride a bicycle. If my grandfather, who hasn't ridden a bicycle in over 30 years, were to hop on one and start riding, I would be immensely surprised. Are there any sources that either confirm or deny that learning to ride a bike is permanent?

Mad Scientist
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Peter Olson
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    People who experience physical brain damage (e.g., as the result of a serious head injury) could lose certain memories or skills. It can also happen with people who've lost a portion of their brain tissue (e.g., brain surgery to remove a tumour) or have experienced a stroke. – Randolf Richardson Jun 01 '11 at 05:52
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    I went for 5-10 years without riding a bike, and instantly started riding with no problems. Just an anecdote, not an answer. – Apreche Jun 01 '11 at 11:56
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    Another personal anecdote - didn't ride a bike quite a few years, then started riding a *motorcycle*. No problems. Well, I did crash a couple years later, but that was unrelated to forgetting how to ride. :/ – Florin Andrei Jul 15 '11 at 23:33
  • I understood it is the cerebellum (behind and underneath the brain, close to the brain stem) that learns these physical coordination skills, and there's really no consciousness involved. Like walking, it doesn't seem like something you *can* forget, unless, as @Randolf suggests, part of your brain is removed. I've taught riding - if you fall right, turn right - if left, turn left. It seems like once the cerebellum gets the idea, it becomes automatic. – Mike Dunlavey Jul 16 '11 at 00:45
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    Last year I rode a bike after 18 years to show my son, and it took less than 5 seconds to get oriented. – CMR Jul 17 '11 at 16:34
  • I bought a bike aged 20 after not having ridden one at all for ~8 years. I found it somewhat difficult and wobbly but was able to ride it home successfully. I'd certainly lost the ability to ride without my hands on the handlebars. Of course I was also larger and heavier than before. – TheMathemagician Jun 07 '16 at 12:36
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    I will say that, when I mount a bike, it takes me several seconds to attain balance, and similarly it takes several seconds to stop and dismount, whereas when I was biking daily those activities barely required thought. – Daniel R Hicks Jun 19 '22 at 14:37
  • personal experience (not having used my bike for years because of physical injuries, tried it again last month): not quite but you get seriously out of practice and it takes a while to find your balance again if you've not used a bike for a few years. – jwenting Jun 29 '22 at 18:02

2 Answers2

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I had come across this article about research on this:

Why you never forget how to ride a bike

It is more like you pick up the unused skills quickly.

I associate things like this to muscle memory. Also, when riding a bike or driving a car, sometimes you might actually be thinking about something else. (I have done it many times, though dangerous!) After you reach home, you have very little recollection of the ride. You just drive!

Laurel
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manojlds
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    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Highway_hypnosis – Jason Plank Jun 02 '11 at 09:17
  • The research referred to is "Free-Lunch Learning: Modelling Spontaneous Recovery of Memory" - http://jim-stone.staff.shef.ac.uk/papers/StoneJupp2007.pdf – Tom77 Jan 29 '13 at 18:11
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Destin Sandlin of the Smarter Every Day YouTube channel, purposely taught himself how to ride a backwards bike (i.e. turn the handlebars left to go right), which caused him to forget how to ride a normal bike. So yes, in certain situations you can forget.

user2199767
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  • That's a matter of reflexes. – Daniel R Hicks Jun 28 '22 at 12:53
  • Actually you’re slightly misquoting it. The WHEEL turns to the right when you turn the handlebar to the left. However, EVERYONE rides a bicycle by turning left and going right. It’s called countersteering and quite a surprise for people to find out they’ve been doing it all along. It’s impossible not to. – Sebastiaan van den Broek Jun 29 '22 at 06:35