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Effective Cycling Class

Interested in developing skills that would increase your confidence while bicycling in traffic? This spring, there will be two bicycling classes designed for cyclists who are interested in honing their cycling technique.

The core concept of this program of instruction is that bicyclists fare best on the road when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles. The New York State Vehicle Code explicity states that bicyclists have the same rights and responsibilities as motorists. The Effective Cycling course teaches how to make this concept into a safe and enjoyable practice.

The course offers cyclists classroom and on-road instruction covering:

• techniques for bicycling in traffic
• avoiding road hazards
• safe braking
• emergency maneuvers
• flat and other on-road repairs
• tools to carry
• adjusting the bike for comfort and efficiency
• physiology of bicycling
• laws pertaining to bicyclists
• multi-speed gear selection

Participants must provide their own bicycles, helmets, water bottles, rain gear and repair tools. The bicycle must be multigeared. All group instructional rides, one per class meeting, are less than ten miles in length.

One class is offered Mondays, April 14, 21 and 28 and May 5 from 5-8 pm. The second class will be offered on Wednesdays April 9, 16, 23 and 30 from 5-8 pm. We will begin by meeting in Room B15 of Riley Robb Hall (enter through the south end of building). There will be a healthy mix of classroom instruction with on-the-bike practical in parking lots and on local streets.

The course will be taught by certified Effective Cycling Instructors Susan Powell and Lois Chaplin, Stan Slovik and Kathy Zoner. Effective Cycling, a program of the League of American Bicyclists, is the only nationally-recognized bicycling education program with certified instructors. Its hallmarks are on-the-road training and an emphasis on learning to ride safely and effectively in all conditions of road and traffic.

There will be a $20 fee which includes the student manual. Class size is limited due to the necessity of keeping the student-instructor ratio low for the on-road sessions, so register as soon as possible.

Call 255-2498 or lec4@cornell.edu for a registration form.