Enrollment in Susan McLucas’ Bicycle Riding for Beginners class has nearly doubled since 2006. McLucas, nicknamed “Boston’s Bike Whisperer,” started the program through the Cambridge Center for Adult Education as a sideline endeavor, “but it’s almost a full-time job now,” she says.
Her clientèle tend to be older people who, for one reason or another, never learned how to ride. Inspired by high gas prices, or perhaps a desire to ride with a grandchild, these folks searched out McLucas to help them overcome their fears and find their two-wheeled balance.
As the Boston Globe reported, one 64-year-old English as a Second Language teacher “last climbed into the saddle in 1961, when John F. Kennedy was president and the Beatles had yet to release their first single. Just over a year ago, she suffered a thyroid condition that left her temporarily unable to walk, talk, or balance.”
McLucas, a lifelong activist, sees her bicycling classes as a form of activism as well. “It’s getting rid of cars,” she said, “and making bikes rule the world.”
Photo via flickr by Carol Mitchell.
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