Quote Originally Posted by Melalvai View Post
I know they'll take the class if their schedules allow. Is there a fee? Mine was $20. Being students, they live on a meager budget, but if they can't pay the whole thing I'll contribute.

When & where is Silver taking the LCI? I've looked into it. Because of the alternative transportation grant, Columbia has several LCIs, and offers Road I, Bike Pro, and Commuter Cycling several times a year. There will be another LCI class in March, but the cost may be prohibitive, I don't know. (The grant might subsidize our fee.) Also-the former biking buddy I've mentioned is in charge of all this, and my husband is not so keen on me taking the LCI class here, so I'm inclined to pass up this opportunity.
The LCI Seminar is $200, plus whatever you may spend on travel, meals, and lodging to get there and stay there over the weekend. The fee covers the seminar, your instructors' packet, and your first year's liability insurance as an LCI. You also need to have an individual membership in the League, which is $35 aside from the seminar fee.

It is a fantastic experience. The seminar is wholly about teaching cycling and cyclists, not a refresher on what's in the course curriculum. You will work hard before you show up for the seminar (pre-seminar exam, plus you will have to present to your peers a 10-minute block of instruction out of the Road I curriculum, plus every student must successfully teach and demonstrate all the parking lot drills), because you hit the road sprinting the first afternoon of the course, and expect to work as hard or harder in the course. Finishing the seminar Sunday afternoon is a good lesson in how much you still have to learn ;-)

As for what the individual Bike Ed courses cost, that's up to the individual LCI teaching it, and what he or she figures his or her time is worth. They do strongly encourage that we charge something for the training classes, a rule of thumb being $10 per student per hour. That would make Road I something like $100. In many cases, local bike clubs or advocacy groups will sponsor a student's attendance at the LCI seminar, and in turn he or she pays back by teaching the classes at lower (or no) cost for the club.

The going rate here is usually $50 for Road I, and $30 for Group Riding or Commuting. However if there's a student who needs the training but can't afford the fee, I'll offer what I call a "scholarship," where he gets the class he needs, and maybe does some volunteer work for the bike advocacy group or something. I certainly didn't become an LCI for the monetary aspects, and if I can help somebody make cycling a bigger or better part of their life, I've met my goal.

If y'all need any help, just holler.

Tom