XIV National Congress SISMES

Purpose: The main objective of this work was to develop a simple, fast and safe way to learn to ride a bicycle. The formulated hypothesis, at the basis of the experimental project, is that the subjects first acquire the necessary balance to start riding on the scooter and then immediately transfer these skills to the bicycle. Methods: The work was carried out on a group of 80 children, 32 males and 48 females, aged 5.46 ± 0.75 years, 1.14 ± 0.05 m tall and weighing 21.27 ± 2.80 kg, attending a kindergarten in Rome, Italy. The control group, on the other hand, was made up of 24 children who took part in only one of the exercises foreseen by the experimental protocol, but, like all the other subjects, was evaluated before and after four weeks on the bicycle. The exercises were performed exclusively on the kick scooter in intervals modality: 15 s of work and 15 s of passive recovery for 30 min each, twice a week, for a total of four weeks of work (30 min 9 2 = 1 h 9 4 weeks = 4 h total and 2 h of exercise on the vehicle a two wheel). The bicycle was never used during the exercises, but only in tests before and after the experimental protocol. Results: The hypothesis formulated at the beginning of the experimentation was confirmed. All the children who participated in virtually all of the drills learned to ride a bicycle. Those who exercised could maintain balance while sitting on the bicycle and with their feet planted on the pedals except for the control group. 72 children out of 80 (90%) after the initial push of the researcher, were able to pedal immediately. After only a few attempts, 80% of the children managed to start alone and from a stationary position. Only 20% required additional time to acquire this skill. Conclusions: The results obtained confirm that it is possible to acquire the balancing abilities to ride a bike without using this vehicle for the initial exercises, but another: the kick scooter. When a subject is able to balance on the kick scooter for about 4 s, he will be able to do it on the bicycle as well.