The Backwards Brain Bicycle

Destin Sandlin is an aerospace engineer, with a master’s degree in rocket propulsion. His web site Smarter Every Day chronicles his various science experiments around the world.

Several years ago, he took on what seemed like a simple challenge that turned into an eight-month journey of mental reprogramming. It revealed how stubborn our neural pathways can be and how the brain really works.

A welder co-worker built a special bicycle for Destin with one twisted modification. Turn the handlebars left, and the wheel goes right. Turn right, and the wheel goes left.

He was sure he could adapt to this change since he had been riding bicycles all his life… but he found he was wrong in a most surprising way.

Despite knowing exactly what the bike would do, Destin could not ride it. Not at first, not after several attempts. His brain simply would not cooperate with what his conscious mind understood.

No one else could ride it either.

As a demonstration, he offered people $200 to ride it just ten feet across a stage. All failed.

Determined to conquer the task, Destin practiced five minutes a day in his driveway – he crashed repeatedly – the neighbors laughed. Then, after eight months, something clicked.

Suddenly he could ride it – not because he'd gotten stronger or more coordinated, but because his brain had carved out an entirely new neural pathway.

What's fascinating is that even after learning, any small distraction (like a phone ringing) would cause his brain to snap back to the old algorithm, and he'd crash again.

The new pathway existed, but it was fragile.

In contrast, Destin's son learned the backwards bike in just two weeks – demonstrating the remarkable neural plasticity of young brains. This explains why children can pick up languages so easily.

It also shows us why habits formed early are so persistent.

Now here is an interesting twist. After months of riding only the backwards bike, Destin traveled to Amsterdam and tried to ride a normal bicycle.

He couldn't do it. The skill he'd had since age six was temporarily inaccessible.

After 20 minutes of struggling (and feeling embarrassed in front of confused onlookers), his brain suddenly clicked back to the original algorithm.

He had set out to prove that he could free his brain from cognitive bias, but in the end proved that he could only re-designate that bias.

Destin’s experiment demonstrates why breaking old habits or learning new ways of thinking is so challenging. Your brain isn't just storing information – it's building physical pathways that become your default operating system.

When you've done something one way for years, that neural highway is wide, smooth, and automatic.

Trying to change means:

Building an entirely new pathway while the old one still exists
Constant vigilance because your brain will default to the familiar route whenever you're distracted or stressed
Holding patience, because the new pathway needs time and repetition to become stable

You can know exactly what you need to do differently and still find yourself automatically reverting to old patterns. It's not a failure of willpower – it's how your brain is wired.

The good news?

Just like Destin eventually mastered both bicycles, your brain can learn new patterns. It just takes consistent practice, compassion with setbacks, and recognition that you're fighting against deeply ingrained neural architecture.

The old pathways never fully disappear – they're just waiting in the background – which is why old habits can resurface under stress even years later.

Parting lessons from Destin:

Welders are often smarter than engineers.
Knowledge does not equal understanding.
Truth is truth no matter what you think about it.
Be very careful how you interpret things because you're looking at the world with a bias whether you think you are or not.

I explore the world using science. That's pretty much all there is to it.
~ Destin Sandlin