Shanghai Student Earns $39K Teaching Adults to Ride Bikes

A graduate student in Shanghai discovered an unexpected way to fund his education while changing lives: teaching adults the childhood skill they never learned.

Li, a third-year master's student at Shanghai University of Sport, has earned 270,000 yuan ($39,000) over the past two years teaching 700 people how to ride bicycles. What started as a side business has become a thriving venture that proves age is just a number when it comes to learning.

The 700 students Li has taught range from 4 to 68 years old, with most being women in their 20s and 30s. His success-guarantee package costs 800 yuan ($110) and typically requires just two sessions for adults, each lasting up to two hours.

Li finds spacious areas near his students' homes and shares teaching videos on social media to attract customers. Within two months of posting his first videos, he received his first paying student.

His students come from all walks of life and have different motivations. Some need to bike to work for convenience, while others face urgent deadlines like company team-building activities centered on cycling.

One woman told Li she wanted to fulfill a lifelong regret. She had always walked to school as a child and never learned to ride, but watching her daughter learn inspired her to try.

She didn't ask her husband for help, knowing he'd have to run alongside her while holding the bike. After just one hour with Li, she mastered it.

"Baby, I can ride a bike now!" she excitedly told her daughter over the phone immediately after the lesson.

Sunny's Take

What makes Li exceptional isn't just his sports education background. It's his ability to identify weaknesses quickly and his patience in helping students overcome psychological barriers.

Many adults fear bicycles because of childhood falls that left lasting impressions. Li spends time talking with them to ease these mental blocks before they even touch the handlebars.

"After working with a student for just 10 minutes, I can gauge how long they'll need to master the skill," Li explained. "In many instances, they require less time than I initially estimate."

Set to graduate with his master's degree in June, Li plans to refine his teaching methods and expand his market beyond Shanghai into neighboring Zhejiang and Jiangsu provinces. His success proves that sometimes the most meaningful businesses come from recognizing needs others overlook and having the patience to help people believe in themselves again.