Cycle Training

Not4Sale; thanks, glad you feel it was worth doing, it was a pleasure to meet you.

You will be able to find me from now on outside Whitchapel Tesco dancing for small change.

you will get my 5p if it is the macarena

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN62PAKoBfE"]YouTube-
Macarena - Los del Rio[/ame]

Had mine today, will a guy called Will working freelance for Camden Council.

After we met, he told me about this "M" method for checking your bike before you ride off. This involves checking things are tight and functioning etc, goes front wheel, (nuts and bearings), front brake, headset, handlebars/stem, bottom bracket, cranks, pedals, seatpost, seat, back brake, rear wheel (nuts and bearings) which seemed like a good check to make sure your bike wasn't going to fall apart. Then we did setting off, i.e., put yourself in a position where you can be seen and can see. Next, emergency stops. This involved hard front braking whilst locking your elbows and shifting weight back. Was a little difficult for me to get perfect technique, as either weight centred caused my back wheel to lift (and skid) and weight back was a bit awkward still pedalling, so I had a few practises. We then went over positioning for turning onto and off a more major road onto a minor one, and discussed my route. He had some TfL cycling maps and showed me a less busy route down to regents park. We then carried on, modifying my commuting route to less busy roads, and discussing various elements of positioning and signalling on the way. At the end he said I was an excellent cyclist who had good positioning but that I could be more assertive with my hand signals (i tended to do them too low, rather than perpendicular to my body).

What I felt could have been emphasised more was the appropriate way to filter, but we did go over some of this (i.e. anticipating lights changing, cars changing lanes, doors opening etc).

I would recommend it to anyone.

It has got me thinking that I wouldn't mind being a cycling instructor. To anyone who is one (wiganwill?), how much does it cost to get qualified, and do you work through CTUK, or freelance for councils, or independently?

Thanks.

£4-5 hundred quid if you approach them,
that gets you 4 days training, then you become co-instructor and after certain amount of consolidating experience you undergo mentoring and become fully accredited.
Check Borough websites for recruitment, often they will have bursaries to get people trained,
Then you could do training for CTUK or other bodies,
Councils will offer casual contracts based on a pool of instructors, sometimes quite good as they often pay bike mileage too.
Where are you based? if its west well worth checking out Richmond and Eric Chassurays outfit (CTUK original and helped us lots with setting up Lutons team)
Also after accreditation you can go on the CTCs register and people can approach you individually,
there are some ommisions from this post so current London trainers please contribute,
if you like working outdoors, are a confident good communicator and have balls of steel(optional) get on it
its never been a better time to get involved,
good luck

...It has got me thinking that I wouldn't mind being a cycling instructor. To anyone who is one (wiganwill?), how much does it cost to get qualified, and do you work through CTUK, or freelance for councils, or independently?

For information about training to be a cycling instructor check out CTUK website for costs and an explanation of the process
(http://www.cycletraining.co.uk/training/instructor_training.php.)

(Other orgs accross the country who are also Instructor training Providors run similar courses to CTUK's)

Bursaries of £300 are available from the department for transport, info here... http://www.bikeability.org.uk/professionals/instructor_bursaries.php

Work independently, for local authorites or independent organisations.
This is a new and growing sector and now is a good time to get involved...

Call / email Maresha Ahmad 020 7232 4382 maresha@cycletraining.co.uk from CTUK for more information (or PM me)

Right David; like that is it? :)
Ok, I am now offering free dinner and dancing with every cycle training session.

Seriously though this is a very generous offer from CTUK and hopefully will encourage more people to get some training.
You will be able to find me from now on outside Whitchapel Tesco dancing for small change.

Sorry Will,
We felt that our offer would help people suffering from the postcode lottery that is a result of the piecemeal funding of cycle training in London. Having worked with you and observed you teaching I would highly recommend you to anyone on the forum wishing to get trained. Let's hope that there's enough people wishing to be trained for all of us!

(and if you dance as well as you teach you'll make a mint dancing outside Whitechapel Tesco)

@ Velo Libre; good to know you found it worthwhile. In the coming days and weeks I think you'll find yourself applying what you've learned more and more and, also, noticing more how other cyclists ride, their positioning in particular. The smug glow will keep you warm all winter :)
It's interesting that he helped you find quieter routes. Not sure what the consensus on this is amongst trainers and organisations? I know some people will never, ever be persuaded to ride Euston rd or Lower Thames st and there is no point trying to force them to but my view is that all roads in London are rideable and rideable safely with the right approach and some experience; that anyone should be able to ride the quickest route when they need to regardless of what 'type' of road it is. I can see that riding quieter roads might be more pleasant at times but is there a risk in that that you reinforce the notion that cyclists and cars can't mix safely? What does everyone think?

@ David; it would be churlish of me to resent a scheme that should lead to more people participating in something I am so enthusiastic about. And thankyou for the compliments. It was me, by the way, that yelled David! at you on Green Lanes the other night just as it was starting to rain.

The £300 bursary seems to be pretty automatic; I had mine confirmed the day after I applied. You only receive it after you have successfully completed the course and admittedly I am still waiting for the cheque but if you can find the money up front it does make the course remarkable value for money.

^^ The £300 bursary seems to be available to all, just answer the questions right!

It may take a while for the check to be sent to you, but it will arrive.

Ok, I am now offering free dinner and dancing with every cycle training session.

Is this offer available retrospectively?

... he told me about this "M" method for checking your bike before you ride off. This involves checking things are tight and functioning etc, .nuts...bottom ...seat...rear ...nuts which seemed like a good check

Bloody right. Last thing you need on a long ride is bollock slippage or a sore arse.

Is this offer available retrospectively?

Balki. He means that you will have a free invitation to join Oliver's veganfest. You pay for the actual meal.

The vegans are alright, mate... if a little easy to wind up.

Not really on topic but close.
I run mtb skills courses up near amersham at weekends if anyone is looking to brush up their mtb skills.

If interested drop me a line and I can get you the available dates.

Let me know when you contact that you are from the site and you will get the discounted rate of 25quid for three hours

Andy

From the CTC Newsletter--a radio programme on cycle training:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p0058wjr/The_Breakfast_Show_with_Joanne_Good_and_Paul_Ross_01_12_2009/t=2h15m

I haven't listened to it yet. The show features Joanne Good, who hasn't always been the most popular person on LFGSS. Her introduction to the piece isn't the most sensitive this time, either.

Starts at 2h 15min into the broadcast.

Oh dear, I've just listened to this. Apart from a fairly horrific report of injuries to a time triallist, there's an incredible amount of blind panic about cycling. It's a useful illustration for people really into cycling how it's perceived by people who don't know very much about it (including cyclists). There are also very subtle messages conveyed by Joanne Good in particular about how dangerous cycling is supposed to be--the net effect of this sort of programme is to put people off cycling. There are the usual strands: (1) Dangerous cycling, (2) lawless cycling, (3) women are disproprtionately at risk. As long as people hear about cycling like this, they are not going to perceive it as normal. The programme lacks balance and an informed voice after the cycle training report.

http://www.londonfgss.com/thread12487.html

Yes, an interesting example of how when you hear a programme on a subject you know a lot about it makes you wonder if all other programmes, on subjects you may know nothing about, are equally inadequate. Joanne Goode's assertion that lorry drivers can see nothing goes unchallenged; clearly they can see quite a lot and, if they couldn't then why are they allowed on the road anyway etc etc...
Though the reporter who got the training was upbeat about it and maybe some listeners will follow that up.
I was observing a one-to-one session this morning with a young woman who was actually exceptionally capable for a beginner and had put a lot of thought and observation in to how to cycle safely. She said she would not drive in London and had never thought she would cycle here either but with her attitude and with the information and confidence that training has given her I think cycling will soon become a regular part of her life.
She did ask one revealing question though; about when to filter forward to get in to the the "boxes for motorbikes and cyclists".

[QUOTE=wiganwill;1094557]Yes, an interesting example of how when you hear a programme on a subject you know a lot about it makes you wonder if all other programmes, on subjects you may know nothing about, are equally inadequate. QUOTE]

True - I'm thinking The News at the moment ...

I have a friend who is a GP who assures me that every report about health and medicine on the TV news is utter rubbish. Obviously this can't possibly apply to what we hear about the 'war on terror'....
anyway, back on topic:

She did ask one revealing question though; about when to filter forward to get in to the the "boxes for motorbikes and cyclists".

Does she live in Newham?

I have a friend who is a GP who assures me that every report about health and medicine on the TV news is utter rubbish.

The father of a friend of mine used to be a surgeon and he used to watch a really horrible German TV programme called "Die Schwarzwaldklinik" ('The Black Forest Hospital') and laugh his head off because it was all such utter nonsense. I didn't really believe him that he really found it so amusing and thought it was all a bit put on and what doctors had to think of this, until I watched him watch it one day. There was one scene in the operating theatre which had him so convulsed in mirth that I still remember it--he is one of those people who is just very funny when he's amused and you just have to laugh along.

Does she live in Newham?

works in Newham; is it different there?

Yes, Newham started to put in cycle and motorcycle ASLs quite a few years ago, the only London borough to do so. I don't think it's spread much since, either.

http://citycyclists.org.uk/asl.html

(Scroll down for some pictures.)

Been meaning to do this for a while. I had my cycle training last saturday. All in all - glad I did it. My trainer was extremely passionate and enthuastic about the whole thing. She gave me a call beforehand and asked what I wanted to get out of it. I said I was a fairly experienced cyclist. She suggested we cycle a bit of my route to work which made great sense since I do it 2x a day.
Anyway - we started out in Brockwell park with her assessing my basic skills (ability to look over both shoulders, and emergency swerves/stops). Then we went onto some quite streets and talked about filtering into traffic and what is best for different situations. Doing the route to work was really helpful and I now realise my lane positioning at lights (esp around Kennington) should be more central. She pointed out to me that I shouldn't always try to get in front of cars at lights and that sometimes that just pis*es drivers off and achieves nothing. Very important to assess traffic both ahead and behind you.
All in all a really useful couple of hours and for the measley sum of £8 (thanks to lambeth council subsidising it), I highly recommend - everyone would get something out of it.

Good post.

... She pointed out to me that I shouldn't always try to get in front of cars at lights and that sometimes that just pis*es drivers off and achieves nothing. Very important to assess traffic both ahead and behind you...

This is something I notice people doing needlessly. Just because you can get to the front does not mean it's always the best thing to do, this is especially true on big fast flowing roads where people at the front race off.