Cycle trainers, what's made your day?

^ not sure what happened there......

Been invited to a work meeting that's all instructors only and stuff, unsure what it is or what it's about but sort of awesome just being able to attend.

Starting to get booked as lead instructor rather than support, must be doing something right.

Tarmac driver being bullied by an artic driver. Some colourful language ensued.

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the best way to make turbo training a pleasant and positive experience is to plan it out as much possible . treat a turbo session like a bike ride, schedule it into your day and don't allow other things to take precedence.

I have been poached to teach the classroom component of the Safe Urban Driving CPC. At the weekend I had a trainee who came in and immediately fell asleep. Tried a few times to get him to participate but he just lay down across some seats and snored.

This was noted in my feedback, was really pleased when the client who had booked the training called me to say they will not upload his attendance for is CPC card as they don't want this kind of behaviour to undervalue the training. It's great to be supported like this.

Spoke to kingston who wanted people to be available for the 4 day training to become NSIP while having experience as an NSIQ instructor and at the same time being available all the time they want for part time casual hours in a weird not forced too but we totally expect you too way... lol

Heading to do a dr bike in peckham.

One of my followers on twitter is booking a 1-2-1 session, yay.

A quick question - hope you don't mind. Are there courses aimed specifically at school years-7-9? Perhaps cycle road training mixed in with some mtb-handling skills? A positive alternative for those kids who watch their elders pulling extravagant wheelies on the wrong side of the road. I'm a suburban-school-governor and students' risky cycling often crops up this term. Thanks.

Most london councils are offering a bikeability level 1+2+3 at that age, it's all going to be aimed at being safer on the road just find your local provider and they should help you out with that(if it's Croydon, Brent or Haringey pm me I'll help setup stuff). If you can't find your local provider let me know I'll give you help with that too. Lots of funding available for this from what little I get told.

Some very glossy videos with what the levels cover but generally the courses will do them all as they build on what was before and instructors need to have seen 1 before 2 and 2 before 3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRz-7FWucLg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewlZ7nlq-3E

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6AnxdQjrWk

As for off road mountain bike skills I'd say ask at your local trails where you will have the training take place, most will know someone local who can help. I'd also say make a point of keeping the on road and off road mountain bike sessions seperate, it will help the kids understand that the 2 styles of riding are different and only one is suitable for the road. It might be harder to find funding for this just so you know.

The info is really helpful, thanks. The school has hosted Bikeability courses in the past but it's not an annual calendar event (local primary schools do offer L1-L2). We're South Herts, I've found some trainer contact details, so I'll ask (school) if further training is a possibility.

Keeping on-road training separate from any off-road skills course is a good point. I've drawn a blank anyway, searching for off-road provision that would be close enough/affordable.

Never seen those clips nice post @Clockwise

What made my day?
Full course
Standing on the playground coaching level 1 in pure sunshine
gorse bushes and singing warblers at the same time

It all depends on what you have local, some areas you might be near a velodrome so track cycling will make more sense, some it's a bmx park/track, some it's trails. I did a search with moredirt site and found Hillyfields Trails in Enfield and Hodgemoor Woods Bike Park but both are a fair bit away and I can't see much mention of bike rentals.

You might find it works out better to do an activity weekend as a school trip so they set off friday afternoon and stay the weekend at some place then one day is cycling and the other they have a turn on a climbing wall or archery or an assualt course or something but then it gets a bit spendy and poor kids wouldn't be as able to go.

Level 1 course. Big skill mix of children, including larger number of non riders than usual (course not really meant for them). Two bikes with stabilisers. However, we split the group and I took all the non riders. Took stabilisers off. Got the whole lot riding by the end of the session. Did not think that would happen with such a big group, so really chuffed. Not as chuffed as the kids. The look on their faces as they finally sailed off round the playground, completely independently, pure magic. Even managing little slaloms and figures of eight and a final game of follow my leader. The hardest kids to teach were the ones who had had the stabilisers. I guess not surprising as they had to unlearn stuff they'd already internalised.

Springboardability?

@saoirse yeah!
Madness of year 1/2 . Take the stabilisers off and they just look at mates and go- come.one them I can do it if he/she can
Magic

Definitely a bit of that going on!

Not a single day free for 2 months, living the dream if the dream is working lots and paying bills.

Well done

Be careful, it can be quite exhausting work.

I'm worried about the days just after the DD. Riding that bit more might not be good.

Ended up doing wheels for wellbeing stuff 2 weekends in a row, both the session leaders seemed happy and said I should work with them more which was nice.

I work with WfW too...once a week at HHV...love it! Lots of adult 1 to 1 training this week which I find interesting and very different after a whole career of teaching children in a classroom. As I have been doing a fair bit of teaching adults who can ride how to plan and ride a commute, I have been learning a few new skills myself. As in, how to deal with a massively crowded cycle route (Elephant to Blackfriars and beyond) where the main hazard is other cyclists!