Written by Jim Sheehan
Thursday, 12 March 2009 01:17
This is the easiest way we've found to help anyone to not crash their bike: every other Saturday morning a small group of folks have breakfast together and talk about our worst bike crashes, then go for a ride and talk about how to avoid having crashes in different traffic situations.
This class is a short version of Traffic Skills 101 (but without the mechanical prerequisite, written and on-road tests, or graduation certificate), so we cover just the basics of what everyone needs to know to ride safely and comfortably in traffic. This includes discussion of handling skills, traffic law for cyclists, and causes of accidents; and a short ride to look at different traffic situations in practice.
Intro to Bike Traffic Skills is held at OCBC on the
2nd and 4th Saturdays of every month. We meet at 8:45am (
class starts promptly at 9am)
and will finish at noon. Students should bring their own bike and helmet (or loaners are available), and should
have done the paperwork stuff below.
To sign up for this class (and pay, if necessary) go to our
events schedule.
Here's some orientation information and homework to get the most from the class:
You'll clock in for class when you arrive and help yourself to coffee and snacks, etc. The first few minutes we'll share bike crash stories, then we'll talk about the "Seven Layers of Safety" until 10am when
we'll break to greet anyone who shows up for the
Saturday Social Ride and do a
Safety Check with them; then at 10:30 we'll do some bike-handling drills; and then take a ride to practice some of the things we have talked about.
Before we ride everyone
will sign and furnish an emergency phone number on our
ride roster; students under 14 must be accompanied by an adult student who is a legal
guardian, or designated by them on a signed
parental
release form. Students under 18 must have a signed parental release
form.
Students should have their bikes, helmets and locks ready to go (loaner bikes are available-- please contact us before class if you need one). You must have a helmet to
ride in this class. We have loaner helmets, or some for sale ($20), if
you don't have one. Wear shoes and clothes that are comfortable, or that
you ride in most often (but no sandals, saggy
pants, or hairstyles that will make helmet fit difficult). If you regularly wear cleated shoes with "clip-in"
pedals, that's fine, but know that you will be un-cliping a lot. Bring any
medication you need (such as an asthma inhaler) regularly or in an emergency.
It will save lots of time if you safety-check your bike before the class, following this easy Safety Check: if
your bike doesn't pass, it may be easy to fix
before the ride, or we can give you a loaner, but please contact us with any equipment questions before class.
You will get much more out of this class if you can look at the Enjoy the Ride video, and at least skim the other info on this League of American Bicyclists page.
We'll give you a paper copy of Ohio Bicycling Street Smarts for your future reference, but
you should look at the link to this excellent booklet first, to fully prepare
for class.
Please visit or contact us by phone or email to Education@OhioCityCycles.org for more information.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 08 May 2013 14:43 )
