Bike Colorado Springs offers Ride Leader Training
The goal of our Ride Leader training is to give participants the tools and knowledge to safely lead groups of bike riders through the streets and trails of Colorado Springs. BikeCOS is making strides to keep its educational message alive in the form of Bike Friendly Driver, Auto-Friendly Bicyclist, and now Ride Leader Training. “It is really about building community and working together to make our roadways safer for vulnerable users and ultimately everyone,” says Joan.
We will explain and practice how both user groups, i.e. motorists and bicyclists, must look for each other in mixing zones such as intersections, driveways, and areas where drivers may be setting up for a righthand turn. And if that is not enough, add pedestrians who are walking with strollers or jogging. “We all have to look out for one another and slow down to create a safer road environment,” asserts Karl Stang, also a League Certified Instructor.
Prerequisite
A prerequisite to our ride leader training is The League of American Bicyclist’s Smart Cycling program which gives you the tips, tools, and techniques to confidently to ride safely. We want to be sure that all people taking the Ride Leader training already have this material mastered and this free course completed.
Classroom Portion
Ride Leader Training is conducted by local Bike Colorado Springs volunteers who are League of American Bicyclists (LAB) certified instructors. During the pandemic we have hosted the classroom portion of the class online. The 90-minute classroom portion helps participants understand what it means to become a bike Ride Leader.
On-Bike Portion
The three hour long in-person session allows participants to take turns practicing what it is like to safely navigate a group of bicyclists through our city. The routes selected generally include a variety of bicycle infrastructure allowing participants to experience different conditions in which groups can ride, such as off-street mulituse trails, low volume neighborhood streets, buffered bike lanes, and parking protected bike lanes. We aim to specifically highlight areas or types of infrastructure that may be problematic so that ride leaders can understand and address these challenges when encountering these situations with a group.
BikeCOS looks forward to scheduling more classes and sharing knowledge about how to avoid common crashes with individuals and organizations of all types. If interested, please visit Bicyclist and Driver Training for more information and to sign up for a class.
