Is there something that you have always wanted to do but could not come around it. Is there something that scares you, something that you really want to do but every time you think about it you end up procrastinating. That one thing for me is riding a bicycle. I could not ride a bicycle up to the age of 52 to but when I finally made that decision, I was able to learn and today I riding is part of my daily routine for exercises. Read on to find how and the lessons that I learned along the way.

A pedestrian stepped off the curb and into the road without looking and promptly is knocked flat by a passing cyclist.

“You were really lucky there,” said the cyclist.”What on earth are you talking about? That really hurt!” said the pedestrian, still on the pavement, rubbing his head. The cyclist replied, “Well, usually I drive a bus!”That is exactly what scared me to the point that it took me more than 40 years to decide to learn how to ride a bike despite the fact that I had two chances to learn how to ride:

1. When I was four years old, my mom and I went to the photo studio. Being a hyperactive child, they had to find a way of calming me down. They put me on a tricycle. It did the trick, the photo was taken. “Next customer” shouted the photographer. That activity lasted for five minutes, I did not learn much.
2. The second opportunity happened in 1999 when I pumped into an abandoned bicycle in St James Park in London. I tried riding but I nearly landed in an artificial pond in the middle of the park. I was done with bikes.

After hibernating for twenty years, learning how to ride a bike showed up on January 1^st, 2019 new year resolutions. Personal development experts have been encouraging me to visualize what I was to achieve. I, therefore,  started visualizing. Every time I visualized, this message kept replaying in my mind as if it was on the front page of the Daily Newspaper “a 52-year-old man sustain injuries while learning how to ride a bike” I wrestled with that image from January to November.

On 20 November 2019, I bought a Raleigh 21 gear brand new mountain bike, a helmet, a hand pump, and a reflective vest. I even put a nametag on it. I was ready to start the following day. When my alarm rang, guess what? The headline news

“A 52-year-old man sustains injuries while learning how to ride a bike”

On Sunday 29 December I realized that the New Year countdown clock was ticking 84, 82, 81 hours, I woke up at 5.00 am, my wife, daughters, and neighbors were asleep.  I decided to jump on the bike on a steep section of the road.  I tried balancing my bike, wobbled a bit but finally, I gained balance. I was rolling down the road, It made me feel like the winner of “Tour de France” but reality reminded me that no, Oltesh you are wobbling and if you are not careful you will hit the roadside rubbish bin.

The slope changed into a flat surface, I attempted to press the pedal, with my left, then my right, then my left, then my right. To my surprise, the more I pedaled the more I gained stability. That was the best morning of the year. I felt so good, the excitement I felt that day could only be matched with the excitement I felt on my wedding day when She said “ Yes I do, I slipped the wedding ring into the wrong finger. The bike finally said YES

I did 12 kilometers that morning. To a professional cyclist, that is nothing but to a neophyte like me, I would include that in my CV. The bike gave up and I was forever in control

I have been riding the bike since then and today I am on day 30 and I am not about to give up. Learning how to cycle taught me three lessons:

Take action.

When I bought the bicycle in November, I knew that I was not ready to ride in the near future. However,  the fact that I had the bike, allowed me to start riding when I made a decision to ride. If you are planning to deliver your next speech, just register for that role even if the speech is not ready taking small steps, doing something small towards our goal will give us momentum to reach our long and awaited dreams.

 Do it afraid.

I have been riding the bike in my mind for over 40 years. The reason I did not try to take action by hitting the road was fear of falling down, fear of being injured or injuring someone. Many people try projects or initiate action, fail but they never go back, because they are afraid of getting out of their comfort zone.

Do it every day

Every day, I try to learn and incorporate a new skill into my cycling exercises.  I was not able to stop on the roadside with one leg, I was not able to ride on a narrow street, and I was not able to hold the handlebars with one hand. The best way to improve your skills is to keep showing up, and keep taking opportunities that will challenge you. Today, I can do a lot of maneuvering when riding a bike and it is only possible because I keep learning and I keep improving every day.

I believe that this decade is the best ever for people who will throw their fear out the window, people who will take action and for people who will keep improving in their areas of weaknesses. It can be in their career, health or even relationships. All you have to do is to join me in the cycling track of your choice.