Experiences of Cycle Training

I am going to re-post some of the experiences detailed in the Cycle Training thread.
This is Dancing James' full account of the training he had last year (from Skydancer)

The intentions were to minimize conflict on the road, undo bad habits and gain extra knowledge.

Initially we started in Hyde Park, being assessed on level 1 skills, such as basic check of the bike, getting on and off, stopping steering etc. The second part of level 1 was also done in the park, stopping quickly, swerving to avoid things, signalling and looking behind whilst signalling.

Though my bike control was rated as excellent I quickly discovered that especially when looking over my left shoulder that I wobble a fair bit, as such this is now part of my homework, to improve my rear vision whilst maintaining a line. One really useful tip was which ever shoulder you are looking over let go of the handlebars on that side and your shoulder will drop a little, thus expanding your horizon.

We then moved on to level 2. I was asked about my road position and explained that the reason why i was so far into the road was having recently seen the outcome of a car dooring incident. Surprisingly it was suggested that I should actually be more assertive in the lane, occupy the lane by filling it like a car would.

Level 2 is about basic road navigation and safety, when and where to signal, going from major to minor roads and vice versa, observing potential risks etc.

A useful tip when starting off is rather than pushing off from the kerb, it can be better to stand on the edge of the road (eg if there were parking spaces stand just a little proud of the edge of the cars. This starts to establish your presence, and you can see how cars slow down and start to give you a wider birth.

Probably my weakest area was road positioning at junctions, tending to take the corners too tightly. This gives cars the potential to over take me as they go round, and with left hand turns it means if there is a car parked around the corner then I will be forced into it. At junctions still behave as if I deserve a car size amount of room, do not shrink up in an effort to be nice, it just puts me at greater risk.

I was commended on my looking back however when following the instructor it became apparent that he looks back even more frequently. There was a "no surprises" ethos, so the more you observe the less likely anything is going to be a surprise.

Another weakness was after observing, and signalling I would execute turnings without taking a final glance, especially when pulling in to the roadside when stopping. This becomes more hazardous when you are taking a more assertive line as there are probably a lot of cyclists who may undertake you as you are slowing down.

It was stressed how important it is to make eye contact where possible, at night of course this will be more difficult so its important to take less risks. If they have not seen me then I should not behave as if I think they should.

Interestingly it appears that being more assertive may reduce my levels of conflict, by engaging other users more in the communication (holding line, signalling intention etc) this should mean there are less surprises for car drivers and less reason for them to use the horn sharply or similar.

I am also going to work on my royal wave and smile, instead of taking their use of horn etc as an act of aggression it is merely them acknowledging my place on the road, at least it means they have seen me.

All in all I learned a great deal and was actually quite reassured that I am doing a fair bit correctly. There is something for all of us to learn from the experience and I would suggest that anyone who is at all nervous should investigate the training route. The instructors are very very patient, I did levels 1, 2 and 3 in an hour and a bit, but they have been known to spend a couple of sessions per level with less confident road users.

As for my first journey afterwards, it felt really good. I was more confident about holding my line, as such it opened up a little more space in front of me and thus I could actually travel faster. I am also more content to wait than to filter up to the front of junctions.

My conclusion was that it was a valuable and constructive use of my time, and I would suggest it to most cyclists to brush up on knowledge and safety.

There was nothing I would contradict about what I was told and I feel that my confidence will increase whilst hopefully reducing the number of incidents where people try to kill me.