Want To Learn To Ride The City? Here's Your Chance

Wanna learn to ride the city?

Then let's do this together.  Jane Blew Healy and I will teach the League of American Bicyclists' Traffic Skills 101 course in April at the REI store in Lincoln Park.  The TS 101 course is the foundation of the League's Smart Cycling program which is "designed to develop your knowledge and expertise in the craft and science of bicycling."  It provides the first building block for adults to learn to ride with confidence and competence.  It is strongly recommended for adult commuters, city cyclists and newbies (or aspiring newbies) alike.  It is also the prerequisite course for those interested in becoming a League Certified Instructor.  The program consists of nine hours of in class and on the road course work.  The class room portions will be on April 15 & 22 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at REI's awesome community classroom in its store located at 1466 North Halsted.  We are presently working on the details of the road riding portion, but it will take place in a nearby parking lot and on nearby streets.

Jane and I are certified instructors by the League of American Bicyclists and have been involved in Chicago's vibrant cycling community for many years.  Jane is past president of the Active Transportation Alliance's board of directors and co-founder of Cycling Sisters, a group that encourages women to get more involved in cycling.  She is a mom and is often seen schlepping her kids around town on her bike.  She is an all around awesome woman.  I am a bicycle attorney, legal columnist for Urban Velo magazine, biking advocate and everyday cyclist.  You can learn more about my background here.

Save your spot in the class by emailing me at bhk@mybikeadvocate.com.  Please provide your name, age, email address and telephone number.  We will be back in touch in a few days with the particulars, including cost of the program.  

The Gathering

Last night, certified instructors of League of American Bicyclists from northern Illinois, myself included, gathered in downtown Chicago to discuss and plan for 2013.  The meeting took place at the offices of the Active Transportation Alliance.  Here are some of the highlights from the meeting:

• Ed Barsotti, Executive Director of The League of Illinois Bicyclists discussed plans to launch  a "first-of-its-kind online bike safety curriculum."  The curriculum will consist of a challenging online test and dedicated website with modules emphasizing safe roadway practices for both bicyclists and motorists.  It will cater to both adults and children.  Importantly, the website will contain a teachers' account page to accommodate educators wishing to make the quiz a part of their own curriculum.  Read more about it here.

• The Active Transportation Alliance is considering drafting LCIs to provide pre-event cycling instruction for prospective participates in the popular Bike The Drive and Four Star Bike Tour events later this year.  

• Elizabeth Adamczyk, of the Ride Of Silence, is looking for passionate cyclists willing to organize rides in their towns to compliment well established memorial rides in Chicago, Bartlett and Arlington Heights.  Every year for the past 10, on May 15th bicyclists around the world gather to ride in solemn solidarity to honor and remember cyclists killed or injured by motorists.  Click here to learn more about the Ride Of Silence.  Elizabeth can be reached at emadamczyk@hotmail.com.

• Like statistics?  Well, on January 15, 2013, the very bike friendly city of Minneapolis released a report, Understanding Bicyclist-Motorist Crashes in Minneapolis, Minnesota, A comprehensive look at crash data from 2000-2010 and recommendations for improve bicyclist safety.  Among other things, the report reveals that as the number of cyclists increased in that city the crash ratios deminished.  In plain language, with an increase in the number of cyclists came an increase in the number of bike crashes.  However, any individual cyclist was less likely to be involved in a crash   ostensibly because motorists were more used to seeing bikes on the road.

League To Hold Annual National Bike Summit

The League of American Bicyclists will hold its annual National Bike Summit in Washington D.C. from March 9-11, 2010. According to the group the Summit "is where advocates, industry executives and education experts gather to speak up for bicycling on Capitol Hill." Click here to learn more about it and to register to attend.