Bike Training
Bikeability
The Chester Cycling Demonstration Town funding has enabled the Council to offer Bikeability training.
The first step has been to offer the training to all the Chester area primary schools, aimed at Year 6 pupils before they move up to secondary school.
Bikeability is a national scheme, using trained instructors and is separated into three levels.
Level One
Level One is similar to the existing Road Safety Unit's Let's Bike scheme and is restricted to exercises on the school playground. The trainee is shown how to perform a simple safety check on their own bike and encouraged to check their bikes on a regular basis. Helmet fitting is explained and the trainee assisted to achieve a good fit with their own helmet. The trainee is then assessed on bike-handling, rear observations and hand-signalling skills on the playground before venturing onto the road.
Level Two
Level Two is carried out on quiet roads, showing the trainee how to cope with traffic in a real-life environment. The trainee is encouraged to make assessments and take decisions on what they see, rather than always doing the same thing. The instructor can take up to five trainees at a time, using a combination of demonstration and questioning to allow the trainees to think about how they are going to, e.g. negotiate a junction or pass a parked car safely. The emphasis is on the trainee thinking and acting for themselves, not simply listening to an instructor who can only tell them how to cope with the current situation.
Level Three
Level Three training takes place on busier roads and aims to give the cyclist skills to enable them to handle any situation on the road, including roundabouts, light-controlled crossings and main road traffic. For the person wanting to use a cycle for work, it can be very useful to find and use cycle routes as alternative ways of getting to work. This level of training is normally on a one-to-one basis for adults or older school-children who want to improve their existing skills.
Certificate
All trainees receive a certificate to show that they have done the training; there is no pass or fail.
More information is available for the Bikeability website.