This Year in NYC Bicycle Education

• The Bicycle Education Program won the 2007 “Best Partnership” award from City of New York Parks and Recreation
  
• More than 500 kids learned how to ride a bike at Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike classes
  
• Over 150 cyclists got savvy at a 2007 Savvy Cyclist class
• New York City's number of League Cycling Instructors increased from 4 to 15 thanks to Bike New York
  

Spice up your physical education or Parks Department repertoire with bicycling this spring and summer by scheduling a free Learn to Ride or Bike Driver’s Ed training for you and your colleagues. Both of these trainings offer full curricula and materials to help you organize a fun and easy Learn to Ride class for new riders or Bike Driver’s Ed cycling skills program for more experienced kids. All Bike New York trainings are free. Contact Program Director Rich Conroy (212 932 2453 x159) for details.

What does a Learn to Ride event for kids actually look like? Check out this video. 

Meet Bicycle Education Program Staff at These Conferences

If you are attending a professional conference this winter, chances are Bike New York will be there too. See the list below to find out if Bike Ed is coming to a convention center near you this season. If so, check the program and be sure to attend a Bike New York training. 

	Westchester Recreation and Parks Society Luncheon	White Plains, NY	February 13
	NJ Association for Health, PE, Recreation, and Dance Annual Convention	East Brunswick, NJ	February 26
	NYS Association for Health, PE, Recreation, and Dance--Nassau Zone Conference	Brookville, NY	February 29
	NJ Recreation and Park Association Conference	Atlantic City, NJ	March 3-4
	NYS Association for Health, PE, Recreation, and Dance--Central West Zone Conference	Rochester (Gates, NY)	March 7
	NYS Association for Health, PE, Recreation, and Dance--Capital Zone Conference	Skidmore College, NY	March 12
	NYS Recreation and Parks Society Conference	Saratoga Springs, NY	March 31

Savvy Cyclist Season Opens Next Month!

Last year, over 150 NY and NJ riders got savvy, and you can too! If you’re looking to improve your bicycle riding skills, sign up for Savvy Cyclist, a free Bike New York class that teaches all you need to know about "driving" your bicycle on our busy urban streets. The full-day course includes classroom and outdoor portions and explains rules of the road, how to perform a bike safety check, fix a flat tire, avoid road hazards, and much more.  Bike New York's Savvy Cyclist class also fulfills the Road 1 requirement for LCI candidates

New in 2008, Savvy Cyclist will be held twice a month (rather than just once) with sessions in Long Island City, Queens, as well as at additional locations on Manhattan’s Upper West Side and in Brooklyn. Which Savvy Cyclist class is most convenient for you? Check out the 2008 class schedule. 

New York Safe Routes to School Update

New York has nearly $32 million federal dollars to spend on statewide Safe Routes to School projects, and your chance to secure a piece of the pie is approaching. A school's SRTS projects could range from installing bike racks nearby to buying pedometers for students, all in an effort to increase the number of kids who walk or bike to school. The deadline to submit an application for this reimbursement program is April 1, 2008. Details > 

Regardless of whether your school is awarded SRTS funding, you can still afford bicycle safety education, because it’s free! Visit our website for more information.

Instantly Increase the Number of NYC Cyclists by Volunteering

The City of New York Department of Parks and Recreation will roll out an impressive number of Bike New York’s Teach Your Child to Ride a Bike classes this spring and summer, seeking to reach even more kids than last year's tally of 500+. Join Bike Ed volunteers like Joe Candelaria at an event near you. There’s nothing like teaching a kid to ride--except for teaching 10, of course! Contact Program Associate Emilia Crotty (212 932 2453 x131) to volunteer. Sessions start in mid-April and include classes throughout the city on Saturdays in May.

In Memoriam: Sheldon Brown

Earlier this week, Sheldon Brown, a long-time mechanic at Harris Cyclery in Massachusetts, died of a heart attack. If you've never visited his website, sheldonbrown.com, you should. Sheldon Brown was universally known and loved for this site, a veritable encyclopedia of bike mechanic knowledge.

He epitomized what we think cycling and good bicycle education is all about: First, Sheldon made his knowledge accessible and unassuming, so that even the mechanically inept could understand complicated repairs. Second, like cycling itself, he was all about empowering people to do things for themselves by acquiring knowledge and new skills. Sheldon’s website was free, as was the advice he dispensed frequently via e-mail and on message boards. Finally, he always gave advice with good humor.

Like Sheldon, Bike New York wants more people to get on bikes, improve their health, and enjoy the world around them by bicycle. That's why we’ve created free, accessible programs for people who want to get more involved in cycling. So this year, give a silent thanks to Sheldon as you help someone learn how to ride a bike, fix a flat tire, or install a dropped chain.

Who Are We and What Is This?  

Bike New York's Bicycle Education Program encourages smart cycling by offering free, hands-on courses to cyclists of various abilities throughout the New York metropolitan region. The Bicycle Education Program also trains and certifies Cycling Instructors and Cycling Educators to offer League of American Bicyclists educational programs in their communities and schools.

The Bicycle Education Program is always looking for volunteers, whether long-term or one-time. Contact Emilia Crotty for details, and visit www.BikeNewYork.org/education to learn more about the program.