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@cliveo
Three years ago I managed to teach my wife to ride a bike. She had never riden before and had a fear of bikes and claimed to have no balance. I had tried a number of time before and failed. It was only after managing to teach my then 13 year old daughter to ride that I suddenly clicked as to how to do it.
My wife had used stationary execise bikes in gyms. She therefore knew how to pedal. The trick to starting her actually balancing and cycling (without holding the back of the bike which with an adult, even a slim adult, is very hard) was to get her to focus on the first push. One foot on the ground, one on a pedal at 10 o'clock. Push off with the foot on the ground and down with the one on the pedal. More the ground foot up and keep moving.
Her earlier mistake and disbelief in balance stemmed from an attempt to have both feet on the pedals before moving. Trackstands come much later. Momentum is needed to cycle. If you learnt as a kid, as I did, you do things instinctively which you have to explain. It is difficult but I found this way worked.
Within a year of learning to ride my wife managed a 40 mile ride on Frenchg cycle routes. It is worth persevering.