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Improper cyclist tries to become an instructor

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hawkeye:
The manager of the Leisure Trust where I teach swimming is a keen cyclist. By that I mean he can ride a bike with drops and keep his balance, and he builds his own machines. I do neither :-[.

Knowing that I commute by bike when working at the pool, he suggested that he and I do a cycling instructors course with a view to the Trust offering Bikeability training to local adults and children.

Cycle England have just emailed me to say my bursary has been approved so I just need to choose some dates for a course.

OMG! I know I'll have to buy and wear a helmet but will I get away with wearing ordinary clothes ?

Will a Cannondale Street Sport Nexus be suitable for delivering traing from or will I be expected to have derailleur gears like everyone else ?

My school didn't do Cycling Proficiency all those years ago so I've taught my 4 children to cycle without any training whatsoever.

My copy of John Franklin's 'Cyclecraft' is due from Amazon shortly.

Wish me luck; I've got a feeling I'll need it .... :o

Speshact:

--- Quote from: hawkeye on 25 November, 2009, 07:30:24 pm ---OMG! I know I'll have to buy and wear a helmet but will I get away with wearing ordinary clothes ?

Will a Cannondale Street Sport Nexus be suitable for delivering traing from or will I be expected to have derailleur gears like everyone else ?

Wish me luck; I've got a feeling I'll need it .... :o

--- End quote ---
Don't rush out to buy a helmet - while many people offered instruction by their local authority have to wear a helmet not many cycling trainers are obliged to wear one.

Cycling is meant to be an everyday activity so ordinary clothes are perfectly fine and logical (assuming you're dry and warm enough in the rain and cold etc. etc.)

I don't know the nexus but derailleur gears on your bike aren't necessary - you'll use one of the trainees to point out how they work although many kids will have single speed bikes. You do need to be able to look behind you comfortably on your bike to check that a snake of kids and your co-instructor aren't trailing 100m behind you.

Good luck with course - I'm sure that you'll learn lots from it of interest to you as a cyclist as well as a potential instructor.

jellied:
Good luck Hawkeye.

Regarding the helmet - no problem there although if I ever taught children I would struggle making them wear one if was not.

Any bike is fine, but it has to be reliable, the bike is your main tool of work. There's always some one in the group with a bike suitable for teaching some thing on - if you're doing one-on-one then use their bike if need be, if you're doing a group then some one is bound to have a bke worth looking at.

As for clothes - you need to be comfortable [warm and dry as you will be outside obviously]. It's a tricky choice beween wearing the full expected cycle gear and jeans and t-shirts, if you're training all day some padding doesn't go amiss.

jogler:
The following comment is popular hereabouts but no less appropriate for that...

you'l be reet :thumbsup:

orienteer:
Some observations from an established instructor:

You'll need some carrying capacity to carry kids' bottles, coats etc. as they rarely have cycle luggage. Also your tools, first aid kit, paperwork.

Well worth fitting a mirror so you can see what's going on behind you - like kids playing about, thinking you can't see them!

Carry some waterproofs for when it's raining; don't worry about sweating underneath as you won't be riding very fast!

Worth kitting out with a set of reflective vests, you'll get better respect from other traffic.

Get instructors' insurance from the CTC - £50/year if you're a member, otherwise £70.

Enjoy!

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