In late May, I stayed overnight in Austin, TX to attend the League of American Bicyclists’ Traffic 101 class. The class was supported by members of the Austin Cycling Association and REI which provided a conference room free of charge.
The class was nine hours long – 4 hours of classroom instruction and 5 hours of “on the road” training. That may seem like a lot, but the time passed pretty quickly – no surprise for someone like me with a bad case of cycling obsession.
The classroom instruction was comprehensive and helpful. While most of what was covered served as more of a refresher to me than brand new material, I could quickly appreciate just how valuable the class would be for new and prospective cyclists.
Some of the accident statistics shared during the presentation really drove the message home that riding predictably as the slow-moving vehicle that you are and taking your share of the lane when necessary is the safest way to get from Point A to Point B. For example, the statistics prove time and time again that being hit by a vehicle coming up directly behind you is actually one of the more rare bicycle accidents yet it is the type of accident most cited by new riders as their greatest fear.
The “on the road” portion of the class was a lot of fun. We learned and then practiced emergency maneuvers like rock dodges, quick turns and very hard, minimum distance “emergency” stops. We then completed a 6 to 8 mile ride in Downtown Austin where we put our traffic skills to use.
All-in-all, the course was worth every penny – I highly recommend it. Kudos to Wes & Stan(our instructors) for a job well done!
