CyclingSavvy for all in St. Louis, thanks to Great Rivers Greenway and local sponsors

Register here for the St. Louis area’s first CyclingSavvy course in 2012,  to be held March 14 & 18 at Shaare Zedek Synagogue in University City. Instructors will be Matthew Brown, CSI, and Karen Karabell, CSI & LCI.

Discover the joy of human-powered travel.

Experience cycling empowerment to act as a a confident, equal road user. You will learn strategies for safe, stress-free integrated cycling and come away with the tools to read and problem-solve any new traffic situation or road configuration.

Shaare Zedek‘s Social Action Committee is sponsoring Part 1 of CyclingSavvy at no charge for all adults. Parts 2 and 3 will be limited to 10 participants. As part of its efforts to promote the new Gateway Bike Plan, Great Rivers Greenway is providing scholarship funding for these participants.

Part 1: Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling

Learn the truth and techniques of traffic cycling. Through guided discussion with videos and animations, this classroom-based session familiarizes students with bicycle-specific laws, traffic dynamics and problem-solving strategies. Students discover that bicycle drivers are equal road users, with the right, ability and responsibility to control their space on public roadways.

Sponsored by Shaare Zedek Synagogue, this session is free to all adults, but please register so that the synagogue knows what size room to set up.

Part 2: Train Your Bike

This session is conducted in a parking lot. It consists of a set of progressive drills designed to increase students’ control and comfort handling their bikes in various situations. Drills include:

1. Starting, stopping  & balance
2. Understanding gearing
3. Slow balance drill (Snail Race)
4. Acceleration drill (drag race)
5. Straight-line riding
6. Turning: Cone weave
7. Turning: Follow the leader
8. Turning: Rock dodge
9. Turning: High-speed cornering
10. Turning: Snap turn
11. Quick stop

In three short fun hours, you will learn to command your bike with precision and confidence.

As part of its kickoff of the Gateway Bike Plan, Great Rivers Greenway is matching the registration fee for all participants. A $30 value, this session is available as a stand-alone class for $15.

Part 3: Tour of Mid-County*

*To participate in the Tour of Mid-County, students must have completed both “Truth & Techniques of Traffic Cycling” and “Train Your Bike” (the classroom and parking lot sessions). The Tour of Mid-County is about 10 miles long, and will proceed at a pace of 10-12 miles/hour

This session is an experiential tour of St. Louis roads. The course includes some of the most intimidating road features (including intersections, interchanges and merges) a cyclist might find in his or her travels. Students travel as a group, stopping to survey and discuss each exercise location. After observing the feature, discussing the traffic dynamics and the best strategy for safe and easy passage, the students ride through individually and regroup at a nearby location. This session is designed to give you the confidence and skills to handle any situation you might encounter driving your bicycle in the metro St. Louis area.

Great Rivers Greenway is matching the registration fee for all participants. A $30 value, students who are participating in the classroom and parking lot sessions may register for the Tour of Mid-County for $15.

Registration available here.