Cycling Skills Course

After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is dangerous'
I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go (i.e., a newbie cycler)
to take a basic course in bicycling skills? As a related question, what
kinds of skills should be stressed in such a course and what would be the
proper duration of such a course? Should participates be required to
demonstrate some kind of bicycling proficiency? Would such a cource have
any impact of safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?

For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective Cycling"
by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an experienced cycler
would be nice, too.

Roger Zoul wrote:

After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is dangerous'
I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go (i.e., a newbie cycler)
to take a basic course in bicycling skills?

For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective Cycling"
by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an experienced cycler
would be nice, too.

I agree. I think availability is entirely contingent on where you are. Here in
France, you're automatically past recovery if you haven't been cycling since
childhood and there is no way to learn basic skills except by getting on with
it on your own. It is a very conventional society which fails to accomodate any
"untypical" case. In marked contrast, when I was in Cambridge, UK this past
summer, it was possible to have hour-long private cycling lessons with expert
cyclists, specifying areas that you wished to explore in depth. I was so
thrilled to discover this service that I have been thinking of returning to
Cambridge for a week just to have a solid course of cycling lessons.

EFR

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message
...
After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is dangerous'
I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go (i.e., a newbie
cycler)
to take a basic course in bicycling skills? As a related question, what
kinds of skills should be stressed in such a course and what would be the
proper duration of such a course? Should participates be required to
demonstrate some kind of bicycling proficiency? Would such a cource have
any impact of safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?

For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective
Cycling"
by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an experienced cycler
would be nice, too.


The League of American Bicyclists offers courses through their BikeEd
program. More info at:
http://www.bikeleague.org/educenter/education.htm

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CycliStats - Software for Cyclists

In article ,
says...
After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is dangerous'
I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go (i.e., a newbie cycler)
to take a basic course in bicycling skills? As a related question, what
kinds of skills should be stressed in such a course and what would be the
proper duration of such a course? Should participates be required to
demonstrate some kind of bicycling proficiency? Would such a cource have
any impact of safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?

For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective Cycling"
by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an experienced cycler
would be nice, too.

That's a good place to start. Beyond that, riding in
accordance with traffic regulations, ensuring you ride so drivers can
tell what you are going to do, and ensuring that you have developed
the physical skills for handling a bike in emergencies should about
cover it.

WRT physical skills, the most important one IMO is being able to
brake HARD without pitching yourself over the bars and without losing
steering control. I'd recommend practicing hitting the brakes (both
front and back) hard in a parking lot or empty street or path, to
ensure you can stop quickly without skidding or doing an endo.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

GaryG wrote:
:: "Roger Zoul" wrote in message
:: ...
::: After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is
::: dangerous' I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go
::: (i.e., a newbie cycler) to take a basic course in bicycling skills?
::: As a related question, what kinds of skills should be stressed in
::: such a course and what would be the proper duration of such a
::: course? Should participates be required to demonstrate some kind
::: of bicycling proficiency? Would such a cource have any impact of
::: safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?
:::
::: For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective
::: Cycling" by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an
::: experienced cycler would be nice, too.
:::
::
:: The League of American Bicyclists offers courses through their BikeEd
:: program. More info at:
:: http://www.bikeleague.org/educenter/education.htm
::

Wow....thanks for the link!

David Kerber wrote:
:: In article ,
:: says...
::: After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is
::: dangerous' I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go
::: (i.e., a newbie cycler) to take a basic course in bicycling skills?
::: As a related question, what kinds of skills should be stressed in
::: such a course and what would be the proper duration of such a
::: course? Should participates be required to demonstrate some kind
::: of bicycling proficiency? Would such a cource have any impact of
::: safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?
:::
::: For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective
::: Cycling" by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an
::: experienced cycler would be nice, too.
::
:: That's a good place to start. Beyond that, riding in
:: accordance with traffic regulations, ensuring you ride so drivers can
:: tell what you are going to do, and ensuring that you have developed
:: the physical skills for handling a bike in emergencies should about
:: cover it.
::
:: WRT physical skills, the most important one IMO is being able to
:: brake HARD without pitching yourself over the bars and without losing
:: steering control. I'd recommend practicing hitting the brakes (both
:: front and back) hard in a parking lot or empty street or path, to
:: ensure you can stop quickly without skidding or doing an endo.

Speaking of that....I've been thinking of having my breaks
switched...putting the front on the right and the back on the left....I'm
right-handed and feel more confident using that hand to control the front
break. However, would this also affect the gear shifting? I have a standard
road/touring bike (Specialized Sequora Expert) with 3 chainring on the front
and 9 positions on the rear. Shimano 105's (as I recall).

In article ,
says...
David Kerber wrote:
:: In article ,
:: says...
::: After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is
::: dangerous' I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go
::: (i.e., a newbie cycler) to take a basic course in bicycling skills?
::: As a related question, what kinds of skills should be stressed in
::: such a course and what would be the proper duration of such a
::: course? Should participates be required to demonstrate some kind
::: of bicycling proficiency? Would such a cource have any impact of
::: safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?
:::
::: For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective
::: Cycling" by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an
::: experienced cycler would be nice, too.
::
:: That's a good place to start. Beyond that, riding in
:: accordance with traffic regulations, ensuring you ride so drivers can
:: tell what you are going to do, and ensuring that you have developed
:: the physical skills for handling a bike in emergencies should about
:: cover it.
::
:: WRT physical skills, the most important one IMO is being able to
:: brake HARD without pitching yourself over the bars and without losing
:: steering control. I'd recommend practicing hitting the brakes (both
:: front and back) hard in a parking lot or empty street or path, to
:: ensure you can stop quickly without skidding or doing an endo.

Speaking of that....I've been thinking of having my breaks
switched...putting the front on the right and the back on the left....I'm
right-handed and feel more confident using that hand to control the front
break. However, would this also affect the gear shifting? I have a standard
road/touring bike (Specialized Sequora Expert) with 3 chainring on the front
and 9 positions on the rear. Shimano 105's (as I recall).

I thought someone with some experience might have answered here by
now. I don't know for sure, but it might work best if you just
swapped the brake cables from one shifter to the other, leaving the
shifter cables untouched. You should probably ask in
rec.bicycles.tech to be sure you get a qualified answer before
actually trying it, though. I'm left-handed, so I like the front on
the left anyway.

--
Dave Kerber
Fight spam: remove the ns_ from the return address before replying!

REAL programmers write self-modifying code.

In article ,
David Kerber writes:

I thought someone with some experience might have answered here by
now. I don't know for sure, but it might work best if you just
swapped the brake cables from one shifter to the other, leaving the
shifter cables untouched. You should probably ask in
rec.bicycles.tech to be sure you get a qualified answer before
actually trying it, though. I'm left-handed, so I like the front on
the left anyway.

I think it would be nice to be able to hand signal
and operate the front brake at the same time.


cheers,
Tom

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Above address is just a spam midden.
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Check out the courses offered by the League of American Bicyclists.
Descriptions are at http://www.bikeleague.org/educenter/courses.htm
I took the Road 1 course here in Austin last winter and learned a lot
of useful information, although I'm definitely not a newbie. I highly
recommended it.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message ...
After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is dangerous'
I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go (i.e., a newbie cycler)
to take a basic course in bicycling skills? As a related question, what
kinds of skills should be stressed in such a course and what would be the
proper duration of such a course? Should participates be required to
demonstrate some kind of bicycling proficiency? Would such a cource have
any impact of safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?

For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective Cycling"
by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an experienced cycler
would be nice, too.

"Roger Zoul" wrote in message ...
After reading some of the posts in thread entitled 'Cycling is dangerous'
I'm left wondering if there is any place one can go (i.e., a newbie cycler)
to take a basic course in bicycling skills?

There are courses offered through the League of American Bicyclists,
taught by certified instructors. See
http://www.bikeleague.org/educenter/education.htm

The best bet would be to contact the instructor nearest you and see
when he's got a course scheduled. My impression is that few of the
offerings end up posted on the web - but I could be wrong.

As a related question, what
kinds of skills should be stressed in such a course and what would be the
proper duration of such a course?

There has been _much_ discussion of these questions among those who
are involved in the program (including John Forester, who started the
program). There's been some disagreement, naturally. Some (e.g.
Forester) prefer longer courses that attempt to give more than just
basic skills. Others point out that short courses are much more
popular, and perhaps give an adequate introduction.

The Road 1 course gives info on types of bikes, fitting a bike, some
fundamental mechanics (changing tires, adjusting brakes & shifters,
safety check of bike mechanicals), emergency maneuvers (quick turns,
quick stops, rock dodges), road surface (and other hazards), and most
importantly, how to ride properly on real roads with real traffic.
There are other topics, but that's the main stuff.

Should participates be required to
demonstrate some kind of bicycling proficiency?

The courses involve class lecture, parking lot drills (quick stop, for
example) and road time, riding in traffic. There is a written final
exam and a final road test.

Would such a cource have
any impact of safety for those who enjoy riding pedaling bikes?

I believe it would. As in all things related to bicycling, data is
sparse. But if a cyclist took the course, he'd have heard about, and
practiced, proper cycling techniques. He'd see how well they work.
He'd probably be less likely to make the bonehead mistakes that cause
a significant portion of bike crashes.



For lack of a better option, I've been reading the book "Effective Cycling"
by John Forester. Still, an actual course lead by an experienced cycler
would be nice, too.

Forester is, in many ways, a tough read - but he covers things it's
hard to learn elsewhere.

You may want to read
http://www.bikexprt.com/streetsmarts/usa/index.htm
It's a good summary of the essentials.

- Frank Krygowski