Safe Riding Class - Spring 2011 ~ Hosted by Steve Gardner

Bike Safety 101
Or: It’s possible to ride without spandex?

Course: Bike Safety 101

Scope: Teaching the fundamental skills to safely ride a bike on the trail and on the street.

Method: lecture and hands-on practice in a safe area, to be followed by on-street riding for those who wish.

Date: Saturday March 26th (rain date Sunday March 27th).

Time: 1.5 hours, followed by a ride.

Introduction and General Philosophy and methodology --Safety principles as borrowed from John Forester and Robert Hurst in Effective Cycling and Art of Cycling, respectively Basic skills for riding Gearing up What should I wear? What are all these gears for? Balance Awareness Falling from Grace—how to fall Equipment checkpoints Etiquette and rules –trails, streets, bike lanes The “Scan” Positioning –how to avoid falling situations in the first place! Trail Bike lane Street Real-life situation “quizzes” and discussions: what do you do when… Bike trail Bike lane Street Bike Lane/Street riding Further rules Further skills What to carry/wear Handling motorists Hands-on “I swear I’m sober!” –riding the line: parking lot practice riding straight The “lookback”—riding straight while actually seeing behind you A Scanner Darkly—practice scanning the “road” Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em: proper shifting, etc Wrap-up: Q&A and off for the streets!