Can my loved one continue to bicycle?

@dlynng
Perhaps get a referral for physical therapy from his Doc, then they can do an assessment using the P/T bikes and other tools or equipment at the site, to ensure he's physically capable and safe before you hit the road.
Good luck! 🚲

If he can demonstrate that he can actually still ride a bicycle, why not ride with him (or someone else who rides) for the safety. It doesn't sound like he should be allowed to ride alone.

Why not an adult tricycle? You can ride with him on a regular bike. If this works, it is good to have him exercise and still have his enjoyment outside. He will eventually have to give it up, but while he still can...

I just realized you said it has been 2 years since he last rode, and that he is in the moderate stages of AD. The inability to even mount the bicycle is telling and suggests he has some apraxia. While it is worthwhile to evaluate his ability to ride a bicycle now, if he cannot, it is highly doubtful he could "learn" to ride again. Inability to learn is a hallmark of AD. And riding a stationary bike does not necessarily translate to an ability to ride a standart bike. Good luck.

Perhaps see a physical therapist to assess along with help from your physician? My husband has quit riding on his own which I’m kind of happy about.

Sounds kind of goofy, but take a look on Amazon “adult bicycle training wheels”. A neighbor of ours has them on her bike for added stability while riding and easier on/off. A good bike shop could help you choose a model, maybe even order a recommendation and apply them to his bike.
My dad loved biking and went long distances. In his eighties, before they had Apple tags, my mom made him take his wallet. He got turned around once, couldn’t figure out how to get home, rode up to a car dealership, someone there gave him and his bike a ride home in a pick-up. After that, they went together.

@judimahoney Thank you for this suggestion! I've reached out to his PCP to see whether we can get a professional assessment .

My wife's neurologist says forget about it. Just too many decisions to handle safety.
Good luck

Dear @dlynng

I don't know if you resolved this. My husband had the same issue at one point. I thought it would be the end of bicycling. It turned out not to be a sport-ending situation. We tried a few hand and leg movement combinations. I came up with the options based on seeing what his issue was and then tried them with him. If the lifting of the leg is the main issue, you can address that by having the bike tilted much more than before so that he does not have to lift his leg as much. After a period of hesitancy, he got his "mojo" back. The "step in" bike models can also help solve the issue.
At the time that Gary had this issue, the whole notion of having him follow instructions was a non-starter (too complex). We went with placing his hands on the bike and then letting what was left of muscle memory take over.

As far as assessments, You may want to ask if the same assessment tools that measure capabilities needed to drive a car would be illuminating for bicycling. Rather late, we got a referral from our gerontologist for one of those driving assessment clinics. He hated the test. He was hoping for a typical behind the wheel test that he thought he would ace. It was very frustrating to him to sit at a screen and have to do the assessment. He quit mid testing. As we know, "testing" of any kind is troubling for people with dementia ( whether it is well-intentioned people asking "What did you have for lunch?" or actual cognitive testing). So I would proceed with caution. Also a generic test may not be very indicative of his ability to do a particular thing that he has a lot of experience doing. ( There's probably a reason that people say "It's like riding a bicycle; you don't forget it" 🙂 )

In our case, we were able to have a pretty long "riding together" time -- with me in front making the judgments and decisions -- before I noticed that he was starting to miss my signals about turns, etc. At that point, I told him that the traffic was too crazy and I no longer felt safe bicycling. We moved to swimming.

I hope something works as bicycling is so fun.

It's been two years. I'm wondering why you had the bikes tuned up at all. Perhaps it's time to sell them.