A variety of organizations, including Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire, offer safe cycling classes & other resources to help people learn safe road-sharing behaviors. You may want to start by reviewing these:
Bike-Walk Alliance of NH
If you are interested in structured classes, Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire can help bring any of the following classes to your area or organization. Contact us at info@bwanh.org to learn how.
Traffic Skills 101 – Traffic Skills 101 is an approximately 6-hour class that teaches the basics of safe cycling on roads and multi-use trails. It is tailored for adult cyclists of all levels, and classes typically include entry-level and experienced bicyclists who want to better understand how to ride safely & comfortably in traffic. It covers safe cycling basics, such as laws, lane positioning, visibility, and skills and concepts for reducing the number of negative interactions with other road users. It also teaches how to “drive your bike like a car”, and how to navigate safely through intersections, roundabouts, and other traffic scenarios. The first portion of this class is an online class which most people complete in less than 4 hours, and can be completed in multiple sessions. An online test must be successfully completed at the end of the online class before students proceed to taking the “in-person” component of the class. The “in-person” component of the class is an approximately 3-hour on-the-bike session taught by League of American Bicyclist (LAB) certified instructors. Once both components of the class have been successfully completed, a certificate of completion of provided.
Online Traffic Skills 101 – As referred to above, to take this free online class, which is the first part of a full Traffic Skills 101 class, go to here (http://www.bikeed.org/courseintro.aspx) and follow the instructions. Students that have successfully completed this online component, including passing the online test, are eligible to take the in-person, on-the-bike skills component of the class. To find out when and where you can take the in-person Traffic Skills 101 class in New Hampshire, contact BWANH at info@bwanh.org or go to https://www.bikeleague.org/content/find-take-class to find a class nationwide. Note that some classes are typically not listed till a month or 2 before they are scheduled, so check back often.
Re-Learn to Ride Your Bike – This 3-hour class occurs on a paved rail trail and teaches adults who already know how to ride a bike, but who have not ridden a bike at all or much in several years, how to regain confidence and biking skills.
Bike Commuting 101 – This 1-hour “learn-at-lunch” style presentation covers safe cycling basics, such as lane positioning, visibility, legal and illegal behaviors, but also how to pack, what to bring, and cold-weather riding techniques. This class is popular among employers who want their employees to feel comfortable and become safer biking to work.
Bike Friendly Driver Class – This approximately 1.5 hour class aims to educate motorized vehicle drivers about how and why bicyclists travel the roadways in the ways they do with the objective of developing a shared understanding for all users. It covers concepts such as taking the lane, and how motorists are required to deal with bicycle infrastructure such as sharrows, bike boxes, cycle tracks, and more.
Train-the-Trainer Class – Bike-Walk Alliance of New Hampshire provides a 3-hour training class that teaches adults how to teach the Youth Bicycling & Walking Safety sessions to 3rd through 5th grade youths in an assembly-style presentation format. This class is desirable for anyone who wants to learn how to teach basic biking (& some walking) safety concepts & skills to kids age 8 through 12. Typically individuals who are becoming instructors in our BWANH Safe Routes to School Bike-Walk Safety program, as well as elementary school teachers and staff, individuals involved with bike rodeos or other safety or health-focused community events will benefit from this class. There is no on-the-bike component, but a bicycle and helmet are used for demonstration purposes.
Adult Learn to Ride First Time – While BWANH does not currently offer classes for adults who are learning to ride a bike for the first time, we do provide links to a variety of online resources that should be helpful. Check out this page for more information.
LAB Classes
The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) has been the voice of American bicyclists since 1880. Check out the many safe cycling education programs available through their website. Contact BWANH if you have questions.
Become a League Cycling Instructor – The League of American Bicyclists (LAB) League Cycling Instructor (LCI) program certified qualifies adults to teach Smart Cycling classes to children as well as adults. Their goal is to help people feel more secure about getting on a bike, to create a mindset that bikes are treated as a vehicle, and to ensure that people on bikes know how to ride safely and legally. LCIs are members of the League and have completed an intense and comprehensive 3-day seminar training. LCIs are typically individuals who are active within the bicycling and advocacy communities and are covered by the League’s liability insurance. For more information on this program, go here. Click here for a 1-page summary of the overall process for becoming an LCI. New Hampshire currently has 19 LCIs, all of whom are BWANH members, and we always need more! Contact BWANH if you have any questions or want more info.
League Cycling Instructor Seminar – This 3-day intensive class certified individuals who have met the required criteria to become LAB League Cycling Instructors. To find out when a League Cycling Instructor Seminar will be scheduled near you, go to https://www.bikeleague.org/content/seminar-schedule.
CyclingSavvy
Check out the CyclingSavvy website to learn about a variety of safe cycling classes, both online and in-person. They also have amazing graphical animations and other resources to quickly convey how to deal with complex cycling situations. Go to www.CyclingSavvy.org.
Contact BWANH if you have questions about any of these classes, resources and programs.
