Fresno County Bicycle Coalition

Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Summer is drawing to a close and cycling in Fresno is more popular than ever. Would you like to take a class that will increase your skills and confidence as you make your way to work, the grocery store, or the park? Join us at the end of September for a 3-day Traffic Skills 101 course taught by Ed Smith and Louise Colbert-Mar, League Cycling Instructors. For more information and signup instructions, check the class description page at the League of American Bicyclists.

How to Sign Up

Class is $50. If you sign up ahead of time we can mail you your copy of the Smart Cycling book, which is the “textbook” that we use in class. This will give you an opportunity to read it ahead of time so that you can come to class prepared to engage in the discussion. There are three ways to sign up.

1. Come to the next meeting, which will be at the Fig Garden Regional Library on 9/16. Louise and I will be there and can take your cash or check.
2. Mail a check payable to  Fresno County Bicycle Coalition, P.O. Box 883, Clovis, CA 93613. Please mark the memo line with TS101 so we know what the money is for.
3. Pay with Paypal if you’d like to pay online or use a credit card. Click the button below.

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us and we’ll do what we can to work it out with you.

UPDATE: Congratulations to Bryan, Richard, and Justin, who completed Traffic Skills 101 and earned their certificate. Justin is a bicycle commuter in Clovis who will be able to apply this principles he learned immediately; Bryan and Richard work for the City of Fresno Public Works. Not only are they now more confident vehicular cyclists, but they can authentically represent the needs of cyclists as road users as they design and develop the road infrastructure in the city of Fresno.

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This will be our second class of the year. Traffic Skills 101 is a course taught be League Cycling Instructors that gives cyclists the confidence they need to ride safely and legally in traffic or on the trail. The course covers bicycle safety checks, fixing a flat, on-bike skills and crash avoidance techniques and includes a student manual. Recommended for adults and children above age fourteen, this fast-paced, nine-hour course prepares cyclists for a full understanding of vehicular cycling.

For more information and instructions on how to sign up, see the League Web site.

Update:

Congratulations to Dan, Becca, Pete, Michael, Bruce, and Brenda. They all took the Traffic Skills 101 course this past week. They all did a fantastic job in the discussion and the practical components of the class.

Brenda recently began using her bicycle to get to work, and before taking this class, she was nervous riding in the roads, and preferred the sidewalks. Now she understands that she is safer on the street, that bikes belong in traffic, and she has the skills she needs to safely interact with other traffic and to negotiate her route to work with confidence.

TRAFFIC SKILLS 101 – SAFE BIKING IN CALIFORNIA’S GREAT CENTRAL VALLEY

Date: Monday and Wednesday, March 8th and 10th: 1:00 to 5:30pm
Instructor: Louise Colbert-Mar
Location: Fresno, CA 93702
Fee: 25.00

Description: As the League says, “You may know how to ride your bike, but do you know how to drive it?” This course will give you some really good information about how to ride safely in traffic and some practice with bike handling skills. If you just want to improve your cycling skills or you want to take this class as a prerequisite to taking the League Cycling Instructor (LCI) seminar, this is the class for you. It’s fun! It’s informative! It’ll make you a better rider.

For more information and how to sign up, to go the Bike League Web site.