My cycling ambitions are far more modest - just a couple of short journeys a day, which sometimes start when I can barely walk to get the bike out. My balance seems to be fine once on the bike. I have only fallen off once -when I was doing 0 mph (!!), whilst negotiating crossing at pedestrian lights with a central reservation, and as I painfully discovered, sloping paving. I preserved what dignity I had left by remounting and carrying on as though it had been a perfectly natural manouevre!! I keep away from busy roads and have the benefit of a local park to cycle round. I certainly recommend it for the exercise and fresh air.