Just like Squeaks, I love riding on wheels.
But my ride of choice is my bicycle!
When I’m on my bike, I can go farther and
faster than when I’m walking.
Plus, it’s super fun!
But I remember when I was first learning how
to ride a bike.
It was kind of hard to figure out how to keep
this wobbly thing, with just two wheels, from
falling over.
And a few of you have been wondering about
the same thing!
Violet recently wrote to us and asked, "How
does a bike keep going without falling over?"
Well, when a bike is standing still, it can’t
stay up on its own, right?
You have to use a kickstand to keep it from
toppling on its side.
But when you’re riding the bike fast enough,
like my friends Jack and Noah here, it can
stay up, no kickstand needed!
Why?
The secret is in the balance!
Whether you know it or not, you are an expert
at staying balanced.
When you’re walking, rollerblading, biking,
or even just standing still, you’re balancing.
And you’re naturally good at keeping yourself
in balance, too.
Say you’re walking down the sidewalk and
your friend comes up and gives you a nudge
to one side.
If they push you to the right, you’ll automatically
put your foot out to the right.
Without even thinking about it, you prevent
yourself from falling, by keeping the top
of your body in line with your feet, which
keeps you in balance.
And the same is true when you’re on your
bike!
In order for your bicycle to stay upright,
you have to keep the bike in line with the
wheels.
And you do that by steering it!
It might feel like you’re moving in a straight
line most of the time, but you’re actually
making tiny corrections all the time using
your handlebars, to keep both you and your
bike all lined up.
If the bike leans just a little bit to the
right, you steer a bit little to the right.
But then the bike might lean a bit to the
left, so you turn a teeny bit to the left,
too.
Every time you steer the bike in the direction
it’s leaning, you’re bringing the weight
of the bike, and you, back on top of the wheels.
To help you picture what you’re doing when
you’re riding a bike, let me give you another
example.
Have you ever tried to balance something tall
and skinny, like a baseball bat, upright in
your hand?
When you try to balance it, the bat will lean
to one side.
And when it does, you move your hand to the
same side to bring the bottom of the bat in
line with the top.
That helps keep it upright… at least for
a second.
When you steer your bike, it’s like moving
your hand to get back under the tilting baseball
bat.
Now, keeping your bike in balance can be hard
sometimes.
When you’re first learning how to ride,
it definitely takes a while to figure out.
But even you more experienced bike-riders
know that you’re kind of wobbly when you
start pedaling at the beginning of a ride.
Since you’re going slowly at first, you
need to swerve around a little to keep the
bike lined up until you can gain some speed.
So, this brings up another question: Why do
you need to be going fast to stay in balance?
Well, when the bike starts to lean over, you
have to act fast to keep it in balance.
If your bicycle’s moving too slowly, you
can’t turn quickly enough to get it lined
up again, and keep it from falling.
Learning how to ride a bike can be tricky.
You have to teach yourself how to work with
the bike to keep it upright.
But now you know that, when you’re steering,
you’re not just pointing your bike in the
direction you want to go, you’re also keeping
it balanced!
You may start out wobbly at first, but once
you get going it’s as easy as, well...riding
a bike!
Thanks for joining us today!
And if you have a question about … anything!
… Let us know by getting a grown up and
leaving a comment or sending us an email at
kids@thescishow.com
See you next time!
