How to learn to ride a bicycle?

I have an untested idea. It started with the question "Did the inventor of bicycle know how to ride a bicycle before his invention?" It sounds like a chicken and egg problem. Without a bicycle being invented, how would the inventor know he could ride one? If the inventor fell from his first invented bicycle, could he have abandoned the invention?

I did a search and found
a quick history of bicycles (a pictorial version). Oh, the first bicycles for decades were without pedals. Thus, it seems to me the answer is that the inventor should already have known how to balance a bicycle without the pedals before a bicycle with pedals was invented/constructed.

Thus, my idea is that one should start to learn riding a bicycle, not by adding extra wheels to it, but by removing the pedals from it. After learning the skill to maintain balance on a moving bicycle, it should be quite straight forward to use the pedals, instead of legs pushing the floor, to move the bicycle.

However, I have yet to have the chance to test the idea. I would appreciate if anyone can try and let me know if the idea works.

Update: This is not a new idea as there is something called the loopfiet common in the Netherlands. These walking bikes teach children to maneuver a bike’s frame using the power of their own feet.

Update: someone has successfully used the removing paddle method.

(follow up post)