Three Northern Virginia adult education programs are separately sponsoring five cycling skills and bicycle maintenance courses taught by Allen Muchnick, a nationally certified League of American Bicyclists (LAB) Cycling Instructor. All classes meet on weekday evenings from 6:30-9:30 PM.

The five courses are (see longer descriptions, fees, dates, and locations below):

• Bicycling 101, a 3-hour discussion of bicycling basics for new and intermediate riders.
• Cycling with Confidence (LAB Road-1), the essential, comprehensive, and very practical 9-hour cycling skills course for *all* bicyclists;
• Proficient Cycling (LAB Road-2), 9 hours of advanced cycling and mechanical skills for Road-1 graduates;
• Bicycle Maintenance & Repair, a 3-hour lecture and demonstration; and
• Bicycle Mechanics Workshop, a 3-hour hands-on sequel to any course listed above.

To register, contact the local course sponsor at least one week in advance: [continue reading…]

“Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles.” –John Forrester

This video by Brian D’Souza and Dan Gutierrez shows how, and why:

The discussion following this video on YouTube is well worth reading too, as it covers both California and Virginia law about lane position.

D’Souza and Gutierrez are doing great work with their Dual Chase View (TM) video technique. You can see some of their other videos at CyclistView, along with powerpoint presentations, and other bike safety training materials.

NBC’s Today Show this morning ran a full 3 minute segment about an increase in bike commuting due to high gas prices. Reporter Kerry Sanders rides with commuters on the 37 mile Pinellas Trail in Dunedin, FL. Also featured are commuters in Coral Gables and West Palm Beach, FL, and Boulder, CO. Some topics covered were:

• Bikes on transit buses and trains — 10% of all transit riders in Portland, OR bring bikes, and bikes on transit has increased 30% in Houston, TX
• Companies paying employees to commute by bike
• Companies providing locker rooms and showers for bike commuters
• Biking is faster than driving or transit in urban areas
• Police depts. turning to bikes vs. patrol cars

Headline News also ran a bike story today, about a man in Tehachapi, CA commuting over 40 miles each way, and saving $400/month on gas.

With bicycling getting attention from mainstream media, the time is ripe for bike advocates to deliver our message. Let’s get busy.

As veteran bike advocate John Forrester said, “Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles.” Accident statistics reflect this, as more bike accidents happen when cyclists act as “pedestrians on wheels” — riding against traffic, on sidewalks, etc.

An article in North Carolina’s Independent Weekly explains the concept of bicycle driving better than most, and illustrates the value of bicycle driver training. With the aid of League Cycling Instructor Bruce Rosar, writer Bob Geary returns to cycling in downtown Raleigh after a 44 year hiatus. Some of the things Bob learns are:

• Obey stop signs, yield signs and red lights.
• Ride with the traffic.
• Take the lane for yourself—the travel lane—when you’re comfortable doing so, especially when you’re keeping up with traffic.
• If the lane is wide enough, and you’re comfortable “sharing” it, move to the right side of it and let cars come alongside in the same lane.
• The general rule is, slower traffic stays on the right. However, if there isn’t room to the right—a narrow lane with no shoulder, for example, or not much of one—and it would be unsafe to go there, don’t. Stay in your lane.
• Also in general, the safest position when taking the lane is the “primary” position, which is in the middle of it, where you’re the most visible to cars coming from behind.

Why do we not need bike lanes in our cities? Read the article to find out.

The Independent Weekly has lots of other good articles about biking, so check them out too.