The Moth

Snapshot · The Moth

Taking Risks: The Moth Radio Hour

Explore episode Jul 7, 2026

Where this was said

Francesca Hayes: Secret Bike Learner

At 39:35 · chapter starts 38:05

Francesca Hayes opens with the confession: she was 22, and she had never ridden a bicycle. She had kept this secret so successfully that no one in her life knew. Her method for solving the problem was methodical and entirely covert. She observed cyclists for mechanics, simulated riding on a stationary gym bike, and fell asleep every night visualizing herself riding to campus — inspired by a Cosmopolitan magazine tip that visualization makes you 10 times more likely to succeed. She found an online forum of adult bike learners and learned to use a small downhill slope and a bike slightly too small. Her trusted friend Carol arrived with a purple helmet and the smallest turquoise Mongoose bike Francesca had ever seen, with 'Little Thunder' splashed across the top tube. On the first warm, dry night, at 3 a.m., with no witnesses, Francesca put one foot on Little Thunder's pedal and cruised down the slope. Then both feet. Then she pedaled — and discovered that a bike balances itself when you pedal. She rode, laughed, and cried, hearing the sound of wind passing her face for the very first time. Her steering was chaotic, she didn't know the levers were brakes, and she stopped by bailing off the bike entirely. But then a stranger passed her and muttered that she shouldn't be riding if she was that drunk. She burst into happy tears: this dismissive stranger was her first witness, and his comment confirmed she was actually riding a bicycle.

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