Get Into Cycling > Bikeability

Bikeability

For lots of us a bike ride was our first taste of childhood freedom. We’d cycle round to our friend’s house and then set off on our own local adventure – even if it was just three streets away!

As grown-ups many of us are a bit nervous of cycling on our streets and roads. But there are more and more of us cyclists out there, and this means the people we share the roads with are more aware of our presence.

There are three key things to remember if you’re getting out on the roads, says British Cycling:

• Ride assertively – with confidence, but not aggression
• Take your space – you’re traffic too and you have as much right to use the road as your fellow road users
• Think training – the extra skills and confidence will pay off.

Remember Cycling Proficiency? Cycling around a school playground and getting your badge? Well it’s moved on a lot since then! Now it’s called Bikeability and it’s for children and adults. It’s real riding and training on the road. Bikeability is available from British Cycling, local councils and cycling training providers across the country.

Getting started? The basics of being able to ride on the road are: can you stop, start, steer, brake, change gears, signal by taking one hand off the handlebars? You also need to be able to look behind you to check the position of other traffic whilst cycling in a straight line. You can practice on quiet streets, a car park or a traffic-free cycle route.

For further information about Bikeability, check out:
www.dft.gov.uk/bikeability
www.britishcycling.org.uk

Or see the cycling pages on your local council website.