Road I Cycling Class

[cyclinnewbie]

This may be a stupid question, but do clubs take super slow complete newbies? Or would I be considered a royal pain in the a@@ for being so slow and clueless?

[Flur]

There's only one class listed in MN. I was pumped that the class is only one town over from me, but then I saw that I had to be a bike club ride leader to sign up. I would think that if you're leading rides for the club you'd already know the rules of the road.... What about us road-newbies??

[TrekJeni]

There's only one class listed in MN. I was pumped that the class is only one town over from me, but then I saw that I had to be a bike club ride leader to sign up. I would think that if you're leading rides for the club you'd already know the rules of the road.... What about us road-newbies??

Flur -
Here in Cincinnati, we put on a separate Road 1 just for our Ride Leaders of the Cincinnati Cycle Club. It helps with insurance and liability. Like Mr. Silver said, EVERYONE needs a refresher course every now and then even if you're a ride leader. As an LCI, I find it frustrating that some "older than dirt" type people grump at my helpful and constructive criticism on a ride. They've been riding longer than I've been alive which MUST mean they know more than I do (or so they think). As a ride leader for the CCC, it's my duty to keep everyone safe.

Maybe the class you saw listed was for the ride leaders of the club.

Glad Silver became an LCI and glad you made SilverSon go. It's a worthwhile class.

Jeni Roosen
LCI #1717

[PscyclePath]

Flur -
Like Mr. Silver said, EVERYONE needs a refresher course every now and then even if you're a ride leader. As an LCI, I find it frustrating that some "older than dirt" type people grump at my helpful and constructive criticism on a ride. They've been riding longer than I've been alive which MUST mean they know more than I do (or so they think). As a ride leader for the CCC, it's my duty to keep everyone safe.

Probably the toughest market to deal with is the old timer club cyclists... It's derned tough to teach old dogs new tricks, and to break old bad habits. A number of our local club leaders signed up and took Road I when Willa first started offering it here -- probably out of curiousuty as much as anything else -- and immediately went back to their old ways.

I had a little epiphany the day after our class where I got to do a quick turn to avoid being backed over in the agency parking lot and then a panic stop to dodge a small child on the River Trail. That convinced me that there must be something to this stuff, and so I signed up with the League and started working on my LCI. It was a lot deeper process than I anticipated, but it's made biking a whole lot more fun and fulfilling for me.

One of the best ways I've found is to get out there and preach the gospel of "effective cycling," and set an example for your local riders. I work a lot with our new riders and the young folks to teach good habits from the start, and chip away at the monolith of the old club riders as opportunity permits.

Tom

[Tuckervill]

This may be a stupid question, but do clubs take super slow complete newbies? Or would I be considered a royal pain in the a@@ for being so slow and clueless?

Some of the clubs around here are not friendly at all. I joined a new club, and I'm "getting in on the ground floor", so I can help make it friendly to newbies.

Make sure you're upfront about your needs, what you're looking for, what kind of rides you want to do. The club you approach may or may not be the one that can meet your need. But don't go in assuming they will. Ask and see if it's a good fit, first.

Karen

[cyclinnewbie]

Gotcha. Thanks for the info!