What does 'like riding a bike' mean? - YouTube
Feifei: Hello and welcome back to The
English We Speak – I'm Feifei.
Neil: And I'm Neil – hello everybody.
Feifei: So Neil, word round the office is
that you had quite an exciting weekend!
Neil: That I did! I went away this weekend
to do some rock climbing!
Feifei: How exciting! I didn't think that
would be your kind of thing.
Neil: What are saying, Feifei? That I'm not
in good shape?
OK, fair point. It has been a long time
since I've been rock climbing, but I used
to go all the time. I may not have the
stamina any more, but I still have the
technique. It was like riding a bike.
Feifei: What? You rode a bike while
climbing? Or did you carry the bike up
with you? What are you talking about, Neil?!
Neil: No, I was struggling to pull myself up
the rocks, never mind a bike! What I
meant is that it's a skill I will always have
and always remember.
Feifei: So we can say ‘It's like riding a bike'
to mean that once you learn how to do
something, you never forget it. Let's take
a look at some more examples.
Though it's been a while since I made a
video, I managed to do it easily – it was
like riding a bike.
I used to do a lot of baking with my
mother as a child, and recently I've got
back into it. It's like riding a bike really.
I know it's been a long time since you've
done any knitting, but honestly, it's like
riding a bike.
Feifei: This is The English We Speak from
BBC Learning English and we're talking
about the phrase ‘It's like riding a bike'. It's
used when we want to say that once you learn how to do something, you never
forget it. So Neil said that rock climbing,
an activity he used to do all the time, was
like riding a bike.
Neil: That's right, Feifei – it was difficult
because it was tiring, but I remembered
with ease how to tie the ropes and all the
best techniques.
The idea is that once you have learnt to
do something once, like riding a bike, you
will never forget that skill.
Feifei: Well it seems that setting up the
studio is not like riding a bike for you,
Neil. The volume in my headphones is
way too loud!
Neil: Oh dear, I think I'd best get away
from here as fast as I before Feifei gets
really mad! Where's my bike…? Thanks for
joining us everyone!
Feifei: Bye!
