Daniela Hudson first did a favor, then created a business
About 14 years ago, a frustrated neighbor asked Daniela Hudson if she knew of anyone who could teach her daughter to ride a bike. Hudson didn’t, but she thought that she could help.
Three lessons later, Hudson’s neighbor had a bike rider. And Hudson had the beginnings of what became Glide2Ride, a business that combines her passions for children and athletics, and which has helped thousands of novice bikers get rolling.
“I absolutely love what I do,” Hudson said. “It’s not just teaching kids how to ride a bicycle without training wheels. It’s teaching them resilience. It’s teaching them confidence. It’s teaching them you can do hard things.”
After the Highland Park mom’s early success, her neighbor recommended her to other parents of bikers-in-training. Those parents shared Hudson’s number with their friends who needed help.
Hudson learned as much from her first few clients as they did from her. She quickly developed her unique gliding method of teaching bike riding, and, in 2018, she incorporated Glide2Ride.
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Today, she offers lessons by appointment, as well as week-long summer camps.
Hudson begins by teaching novice bikers how to balance. Then she adds pedaling, followed by braking, starting, and turning. She also offers safety courses, and she always emphasizes responsibility. Even the littlest riders, Hudson said, should check their bike’s air, brakes, and chain before pedaling off, and she never lets them ride away without a helmet.
Hudson’s youngest clients are 4 years old. Her oldest was a 70-year-old grandmother who became a biker in two lessons.
Hudson attributes her success to patience, kindness, a step-by-step method, and a toolkit filled with magic spray and band-aids.
“I can be firm when I need to be,” she said. “Breaking it down and making them feel good when they accomplish a goal, I think, is so good for their self-esteem.”
University Park mom Courtney Allen turned to Hudson one November after she and her husband had tried to teach their 4-and 5-year-old daughters to ride without success.
The weather was freezing, but that didn’t make a difference. Within about 10 minutes, Hudson had both girls up and pedaling, jackets and all.
“It was incredible,” Allen said. “It was so fast. She was a great teacher.”
When her third daughter was ready to learn to bike, Allen saved time and sent her to Hudson.
“Daniela is just awesome with kids,” Allen said. “She’s very kind, but she explains things really well, and she’s so engaging.”
Preston Hollow mom Bala Mohan said Hudson taught her almost 7-year-old to ride this summer without any of the scraped knees that she remembers getting as a child. Her daughter was motivated to keep learning, and Hudson even taught her how to read road signs and safely cross streets.
“She is very diligent,” Mohan said of Hudson. “She puts a lot of heart in her work.”
Hudson charges $125 for each one-hour lesson. But she said her biggest reward is seeing children’s joy and pride at their success.
“We live in a world of instant gratification, especially for children. And this is not instant gratification by any means. It’s hard work that pays off,” she said. “Seeing the kids so happy that they accomplished something is just so touching.”
