Monday, September 3, 2018
Mark Your Calendars: FABB September Meeting
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| Photo Courtesy of FCPS SRTS. |
FABB’s next monthly meeting will be on September 19, 2018, from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm at the Thomas Jefferson Library at 7415 Arlington Boulevard in Falls Church. Our focus will be on bicycling-related developments in the Mason District with a Fairfax County Department of Transportation on recent projects in and future plans for the district.
In addition, the meeting will feature discussions on bicycling encouragement and education. Sally Smallwood, the Fairfax County Public School’s Safe Routes to School Coordinator, will give a presentation on efforts to improve the health and well being of our children by helping them become more active. FABB’s own Katie Kelly will talk about teaching beginning riders and the rewards of being an instructor. Please plan on joining us.
Labels: bicycle education, mason district, safe routes to school, srts coordinator
Monday, September 18, 2017
Adult Bike Class This Saturday
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Falls Church is sponsoring an Adult Bicycle Education Class this Saturday, September 23, 2017, from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM that is open to the general public. This 3-hour class is a great opportunity for people who don’t ride but who are interested in joining their neighbors and friends in the joy of biking. Instruction will focus on the basics of how to ride a bike. The class will be held at Cavalier Trail Park Tennis Courts at 590 South Maple Avenue in Falls Church.
FABB is encouraging its members to share this information with friends and neighbors to help promote bicycling in the region.
Sign up for the class using this link.
Labels: bicycle education, falls church
Monday, April 4, 2016
Essential Elements of a Bicycle-Friendly Community
The Urban Land Institute report, Active Transportation and Real Estate: The Next Frontier, provided other important insights not mentioned in our previous blog about efforts to make bicycling better in Fairfax. One important insight, citing the League of American Bicyclists, notes that there is no single route to becoming a “bicycle-friendly community.” For different communities to capitalize on their strengths to make biking better and safer, the league recommends five key “Essential Elements of a Bicycle-Friendly America”:
>> Engineering. Have facilities been built to promote cycling in the community? What is the total mileage of the bicycle network, both on-road and off-road? Do arterial streets have bike lanes? What is the availability of bike parking? Signals? Repair shops? Does the bike network connect to major community destinations like schools, neighborhoods, and the downtown?
>> Encouragement. Does the community promote and encourage cycling through events, campaigns, and incentives? Is there a bicycle club? A bicycle advisory committee? A bicycle advocacy organization? Does the community promote a bike-to-work day, week, or month?
>> Education. Does the community do education about bike safety for both cyclists and motorists? Is there a community-wide bike map? How about bicycle-skills classes on repairs and ridership? Is the community aware of the location of bike trails and other facilities?
>> Enforcement. Does the community have bicycle-friendly laws and policies in place? Does the community use enforcement to encourage cyclists to obey the laws and motorists to share the road? Do police patrol the bike trails? Are they plowed during the winter?
>> Evaluation and planning. Does the community know how many people cycle and for what reasons? Is the bike plan current? Is it being implemented? Should it be updated? Is there a bike program coordinator or staff person? Does the city have data on ridership, crashes, and fatalities?
With these questions in mind, how is Fairfax doing and what can we be doing better?
With these questions in mind, how is Fairfax doing and what can we be doing better?
Labels: advocacy, bicycle education, bicycle planning, law enforcement
Thursday, September 24, 2015
DC second grade students receive bike safety education
All second graders in DC public schools now have the opportunity to learn to ride a bike. Starting this year physical education teachers will hold four 50-minute lessons on bike safely. District DOT and private donors purchased 1,000 bikes to be used in the classes.From the Washington Post article All D.C. public school students will learn to ride a bike in second grade:
The unit also reflects efforts across the country to make physical education classes more accessible and useful, with less focus on competitive sports and more attention to healthy lifestyles and fitness habits.
“This a lifelong skill,” said Miriam Kenyon, director of health and physical education for D.C. Public Schools. “It’s a way students can get to school and it’s also a way they can exercise with their family. It promotes independence, and it’s a good way to get around.”
The school system will ensure that programs of walking, bicycling and bus safety education shall be established and maintained for students in the elementary schools. Such programs shall be conducted in accordance with Virginia Department of Education curriculums and guidelines. Staff members will provide general safety information to school communities and respond to requests for specific information and advice when practicable.
These programs have not been established and almost no elementary kids receive bicycle safety education. According to the Post article referenced above, "Fairfax County offers optional lessons for older elementary students." There may be one or two schools that offer some bike safety instructions. The lessons should not be optional according to FCPS policy. All elementary students should have the opportunity to learn about safe bicycling skills. Why not ask your School Board member why FCPS does not follow their own policy on bike education.Labels: bicycle education, dc, dc public schools, fairfax county public schools, learn to ride
Friday, August 21, 2015
Reston Century on W&OD Trail on Sunday
This weekend would be a great time to use the Fairfax County Interactive Bike Map to find a new bike route and explore the county. There are many on-road routes that are safe and provide a variety riding conditions. I often wonder why some of the faster cyclists insist on training on the W&OD Trail, especially on a busy weekend. If they want to ride fast, what better place than on the road.
I think many faster cyclists are afraid to ride on the road because they don't know how to do so safely, riding too far to the right and inviting cars to pass too close. According to Virginia law, if a lane is too narrow to share with a motorist, which describes most of our 11- and 12-foot lanes in Fairfax, than cyclists are not required to ride to the right. They should take the lane and force motorists to pass them properly, often requiring them to change lanes. This is much safer than hugging the curb. As of July, motorists can legally cross the double-yellow line to safely pass cyclists, allowing 3 feet when passing.
Today I saw a policeman riding a bike on Sunrise Valley Dr. in Reston in the gutter pan, riding much too far to the right. He then moved across two lanes to the left turn lane without signaling. Most bicycle police receive bicycle safety training so that officer should know better. Riding on the road safely is a skill that can be taught, and yet there is basically no bicycle education in Fairfax. Maybe that should change.
Labels: bicycle education, reston bike club, reston century
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Bikeology - Middle and high school curriculum just published
"Bikeology is a ready-to-use bicycle-safety curriculum for physical education teachers and recreation specialists working with students in grades 6-12."
From Bike Portland:
The 355-page curriculum includes seven units: Getting Ready to Ride, Bicycle Handling Basics, Emergency Bicycle Handling Skills, Advanced Bicycle Handling Skills, Rules of the Road for Riding, Bicycle Maintenance and Riding for Fitness.
In addition to key goals and skills for each unit, it includes both written activities like themed word searches and instructions for setting up physical activities like practice rides.
There's also a 34-page guide aimed at parents, with slightly more detailed information and advice.
It's certainly not a much of a marketing document.
"Bicycles are associated with more injuries and deaths than any other consumer product other than the automobile," the guide points out in a characteristic section urging every bicycle rider to use a helmet for every trip.
If I received the curriculum or parent's guide without having already decided that it was a good thing to get my students or children on bicycles, I'd be terrified: none of the documents has a single photo of people enjoying themselves, and it's left to instructor and students to come up with ways to convey the pleasures and advantages of biking in addition to the tasks, responsibilities and concerns.
That said, it's great to see the federal government making a serious effort to aid bike education at an age when we build our first transportation habits and too many girls, in particular, tend to abandon the activity. With Portland's own Safe Routes to School program expanding into middle schools this year, hopefully it'll be a useful tool.
The publication was written by Vicki Miller of Virginia Commonwealth University and Heather Funkhouser who at one time worked at the Virginia Department of Health. The curriculum was tested in several schools in Virginia.In addition to key goals and skills for each unit, it includes both written activities like themed word searches and instructions for setting up physical activities like practice rides.
There's also a 34-page guide aimed at parents, with slightly more detailed information and advice.
It's certainly not a much of a marketing document.
"Bicycles are associated with more injuries and deaths than any other consumer product other than the automobile," the guide points out in a characteristic section urging every bicycle rider to use a helmet for every trip.
If I received the curriculum or parent's guide without having already decided that it was a good thing to get my students or children on bicycles, I'd be terrified: none of the documents has a single photo of people enjoying themselves, and it's left to instructor and students to come up with ways to convey the pleasures and advantages of biking in addition to the tasks, responsibilities and concerns.
That said, it's great to see the federal government making a serious effort to aid bike education at an age when we build our first transportation habits and too many girls, in particular, tend to abandon the activity. With Portland's own Safe Routes to School program expanding into middle schools this year, hopefully it'll be a useful tool.
Labels: bicycle education, bikeology
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Bikeyface; Learning what it takes to bike more
I'm a big fan of Bikeyface and am catching up on some of the older illustrations. I love the series about people who want to start biking more, Small Steps: "It’s spring, and there are many more bikes on the road. Others want to start biking. But changing to any new mode of transportation is a big lifestyle change and takes time." Below is the summary image. Check out the others:"
Labels: bicycle education, bikeyface
Thursday, July 11, 2013
New bike videos from LAB
The League of American Bicyclists recently released several new educational videos. Videos are organized in three broad categories, Better Bicycling, Riding Tips, and Bikes & Gears. They are based on the principles taught in the League's Traffic Skills 101 course, much of which is contained in the online version at bikeed.org.While I haven't watched them all, the videos appear to be very well done. As a League Cycling Instructor I will likely use the videos in my classes in the future. From the League:
The online Smart Cycling program is designed to develop your knowledge of bicycling safety by using lessons, interactive components and videos. Here you will learn about the different types of bikes and bicycling gear. You will learn techniques for improving your ride, your rights as a bicyclist and how to ride safely on the road.
Below is the Intersection Positioning video:
Labels: bicycle education, league cycling instructor, league of american bicyclists, video
Friday, March 23, 2012
Popularity of cycling in DC
By some indicators, it has never been a better time to travel by bike. Gas prices are soaring, spring has arrived, and the District is already one of the most active cities in the country, second in biking and walking only to Boston, according to the Alliance for Biking and Walking. But there’s a downside to the region’s cycling growth: Authorities and advocates are struggling to keep up with a crowd of riders whose skills range from expert to novice in an already congested city.
One way that WABA is trying to help is by providing bike education classes for these new riders. See their full calendar of upcoming classes, although none are available in Fairfax. I occasionally teach for WABA and so I attended a session for WABA instructors held last night at WABA's offices in Adams Morgan. To get there I rode my beater Metro bike to a nearby bus stop, parked and took the Connector bus to West Falls Church where I caught Metro to Foggy Bottom.When not traveling with my own bike I prefer to use CaBi once in the District. The SpotCycle mobile app is a great way to find stations and check availability of bikes. Unfortunately the apps wasn't working while I was riding Metro in the city. After arriving at the station I quickly found that there were no bikes available at the CaBi station near Foggy Bottom. According to the app, almost all nearby stations were empty. The one station with bikes was near Farragut North, but after walking there I discovered that the one bike at the station wasn't working.
I continued walking toward Dupont Circle in hopes of finding a bike. At M and 18th St the station had two bikes and three people wanting to rent. It was a race to see who could check out a bike first. Fortunately two more bikes arrived and there were bikes for everyone.
It was impressive to see how many people were using bikes last night to get around. DC is making great strides by providing new bike facilities all over town. The ride to Adams Morgan on Columbia Rd is now a little easier where the center turn lane was recently replaced with two 5-foot bike lanes. At the CaBi station near the WABA office I had a different problem; that station was full so I rode on to find an empty stall at a nearby station. Needless to say I was late for the meeting. I'll try to remember to check SpotCycle earlier next time.
See the GreaterGreaterWashington article What's better: More CaBi stations or bigger ones? on the challenges of making bikes available to everyone.
See another recent article on CaBi District homeless get help renting bikes.
Labels: bicycle education, capital bikeshare
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Fairfax Co School Board modifies bike to school policy
Prior to their action, the school system did not have a clear policy regarding whether kids were allowed to bike to school. At some schools students were banned from biking:
Recognizing the health benefits, FCPS encourages parents to consider having their children walk and/or ride a bicycle to and from school using existing infrastructure. This parental decision is not subject to review by the principal. Ultimately, parents have the responsibility for selecting their children’s routes to and from bus stops, schools, and home. Parents are also responsible for providing supervision that is appropriate for the student's age, maturity and conditions of the chosen route. The unique procedures for kindergarten students are addressed in the current version of Regulation 8617.
The second part of the change relates to retaining bike and ped safety education, which is part of the Grade 1, 5, and 7 curriculum. Until a few years ago School Education Officers rotated through the elementary schools and taught bike safety classes. The classes were dropped when the program was cut.It's critical that kids are taught how to safely walk and bike along our streets. We can't advocate in good faith to get more kids on bikes unless we ensure they receive safety education. We also think they will be better teen drivers if they learn the rules of the road at an early age.
The old policy was outdated and needed to be replaced. It didn't include bike safety and it referenced the school education officers. Here's the new policy:
Safety Education: The school system will ensure that programs of walking, bicycling and bus safety education shall be established and maintained for students in the elementary schools. Such programs shall be conducted in accordance with Virginia Department of Education curriculums and guidelines. Staff members will provide general safety information to school communities and respond to requests for specific information and advice when practicable.
FABB has been advocating for these changes for the past two years. Thanks to Jeff Anderson, a member of FABB who leads Wolfie's bike train (see photo above), who lead this effort.
Thanks to the School Board and the Facilities and Transportation staff for their support for the Safe Routes to School Program and for encouraging more kids to walk and bike to school. Much more needs to be done but we're setting the foundation for the future.
The challenge now is how to find the resources to ensure that bike safety is taught in all 138 elementary schools. Safe Routes to School grants would help as would reinstatement of the School Education Officers, as was recommended by the School Health Advisory Committee last year.
Read more details about the policy changes. Now, about bikes being a prohibited student activity...
Labels: bicycle education, safe routes to school, walk and bike to school day
Friday, August 26, 2011
Bike safety in Fairfax
As Markham was riding home through Fairfax City that evening around 7 p.m., an ice cream truck struck him a short distance from the Fairfax Square Apartment complex.
Markham suffered broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung.
“When the truck hit me, I was thrown up on the hood of the truck and then rolled off and landed in front of its front left tire,” Markham said. “The tire then rolled over me and remained on my back before it eventually backed up off of me.”
“I want to bring more bike safety awareness to the Northern Virginia area,” he said. “I have gotten involved with the Washington Biking Association and I want to get out there and speak to the public to educate both drivers and cyclists about sharing the road safely. No one should have to go through what I did.”
We assume Washington Biking Association is Washington Area Bicyclists Association (WABA). We plan to get in touch with Brendan and work with him to figure improve bicycle safety education in this area.Markham suffered broken ribs, one of which punctured his lung.
“When the truck hit me, I was thrown up on the hood of the truck and then rolled off and landed in front of its front left tire,” Markham said. “The tire then rolled over me and remained on my back before it eventually backed up off of me.”
“I want to bring more bike safety awareness to the Northern Virginia area,” he said. “I have gotten involved with the Washington Biking Association and I want to get out there and speak to the public to educate both drivers and cyclists about sharing the road safely. No one should have to go through what I did.”
Labels: bicycle education, bike to work day, safety
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Traffic Skills 101 class offered this week
Fairfax Co Adult and Community Education is offering a bicycle skills class this week, Cycling With Confidence! (LAB Traffic Skills 101). I will be teaching the class on Tuesday evening and all day Saturday at Chantilly High School on Stringfellow Road. Register online. To find out more about the classroom portion, visit the Traffic Skills 101 online course.Why should someone who has been riding a bicycle for many years want to take a bicycle skills course? Many people don't feel very safe riding with traffic, especially on busy main roads with higher speed limits. Through the use of "effective cycling" techniques, cyclists can learn to control traffic by using effective lane positioning techniques. With practice these techniques become second nature. They improves cyclists' visibility, both between and at intersections. Cyclists also learn how to avoid dangerous situations by practicing various skills such as the quick stop, rock dodge, and instant turn. These skills could save your life.
Labels: bicycle education, traffic skills 101
Monday, August 30, 2010
League Certified Instructor seminar coming to DC
WABA is sponsoring an LCI seminar to teach the teachers:Becoming a League Cycling Instructor (LCI) certified to teach Smart Cycling is a great way to help cyclists in your community. Certified instructors can teach Smart Cycling classes to children as well as adults. Help bring the joy of safe cycling to others. If you are an experienced cyclist and would like to teach others please consider taking the next step towards certification. Becoming a League of American Bicyclists member ($35) and taking Traffic Skills 101 are prerequisites for a LCI certification seminar ($200). Candidates may take all three of WABA's Confident City Cyclist Series (CCC 1, 2 and 3) which are equal to the TS101 or may take a TS101 class.
The seminar will be held at WABA's offices, Fri-Sun, Nov 19-21, 2010. Class times are 11/19 Fri. 5 pm-9 pm, 11/20 Sat. 8 am-8:25 pm, 11/21 Sun. 8 am-3:30 pm.Labels: bicycle education, lci seminar, traffic skills 101
Monday, May 24, 2010
Response to Post article on cyclist/motorist interaction
Earlier this week the Post published an article on bicyclist/motorist interactions (see our blog post on the article). FABB member Fionnuala Quinn responded to the article with a letter in today's Post on the need for better bicycle education:There were many comments about breaking rules and behaving poorly in the May 20 Metro article "Cyclists, drivers struggle to chart road rules." But there was no discussion about the lack of a system of bike education. When little instruction is provided, we should not be surprised that some road users don't conduct themselves well or know all of the rules.
Comprehensive school bicycle curricula abound in Europe. I recently visited a Belgian program where 10-year-olds receive 30 hours of bicycle training during the school year. The students spend 20 hours riding in traffic, and they have to pass a four-kilometer road test. With this level of education, students are likely to grow up to have a much better understanding of bicycles in traffic, whether they are riding or driving.
The successful bicycling that can be seen in Europe is in part a reflection of a commitment to teaching the population how to share the right of way. We instruct our 16-year-olds on how to drive cars, so why not take a little time to learn about safe bicycling on our roads also? We would all benefit.
Fionnuala Quinn, Fairfax
The writer is a board member of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, but the views expressed are her own.
Fionnuala makes a great point, if kids were taught the rules of the road at an earlier age, they would likely be better drivers once they get behind the wheel of a car. Not only would they already know basic rules of the road, they would likely be more tolerant of bicyclists out on the road. While Fairfax County has a fairly thorough bicycle education curriculum, especially in Grade 5, with 2 full sessions on bike safety, we've found that it is rarely taught. Did you or your kids receive any bike education in the Fairfax public schools?Comprehensive school bicycle curricula abound in Europe. I recently visited a Belgian program where 10-year-olds receive 30 hours of bicycle training during the school year. The students spend 20 hours riding in traffic, and they have to pass a four-kilometer road test. With this level of education, students are likely to grow up to have a much better understanding of bicycles in traffic, whether they are riding or driving.
The successful bicycling that can be seen in Europe is in part a reflection of a commitment to teaching the population how to share the right of way. We instruct our 16-year-olds on how to drive cars, so why not take a little time to learn about safe bicycling on our roads also? We would all benefit.
Fionnuala Quinn, Fairfax
The writer is a board member of Fairfax Advocates for Better Bicycling, but the views expressed are her own.
Update 5/26/2010: Why stereotype victims in cycling accidents? is the title of another letter to the Post. The title says it all:
The article about the cyclist who was killed by an out-of-control SUV ["Cyclist, SUV driver killed in Va. crash," Metro, May 22] took a curious turn when Detective Scott Neville was quoted stating "you want to be careful about stereotyping, but..." The word "but" signals the bias to follow.
The article alleges that "the majority of the half-dozen cyclist deaths [in Fairfax] in the past five years have involved Latino immigrants riding to or from work in the dark" — soft numbers but do the math. Perhaps three or four people of Latin descent were killed in cycling accidents in the past five years. This is far from a cultural revelation.
It is fair to assume that workers who must bicycle to and from work in the dark are from a lower economic strata, but to link cycling deaths to ethnicity is absurd. Were any statistics kept describing the cultural identities of the vehicle drivers who caused these deaths? Perhaps a majority were white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Equally absurd.
Jim Wilson, Warrenton
The article alleges that "the majority of the half-dozen cyclist deaths [in Fairfax] in the past five years have involved Latino immigrants riding to or from work in the dark" — soft numbers but do the math. Perhaps three or four people of Latin descent were killed in cycling accidents in the past five years. This is far from a cultural revelation.
It is fair to assume that workers who must bicycle to and from work in the dark are from a lower economic strata, but to link cycling deaths to ethnicity is absurd. Were any statistics kept describing the cultural identities of the vehicle drivers who caused these deaths? Perhaps a majority were white Anglo-Saxon Protestants. Equally absurd.
Jim Wilson, Warrenton
Labels: bicycle education
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Bicycle skills classes
We've started teaching Traffic Skills 101 courses in Fairfax this year. For many years Allen Muchnick has taught this course in Northern Virginia, mostly inside the Beltway. The course was developed by the League of American Bicyclists with the goal of teaching bicyclists to ride safely in traffic.Vehicular cycling or effective cycling "is the practice of driving bicycles on roads in a manner that is visible, predictable, and in accordance with the principles for driving a vehicle in traffic." The concepts are embodied by the statement that "Cyclists fare best when they act and are treated as drivers of vehicles."
Through the use of vehicular cycling techniques, cyclists can learn to control traffic by lane positioning. When a lane is too narrow to share, "taking the lane" is the best, safest strategy. With practice this technique becomes second nature. It improves cyclists' visibility, both between and at intersections. Cyclists also learn how to avoid dangerous situations by practicing skills such as the quick stop, rock dodge, and instant turn. These skills will become second nature and could save your life.Most people in the U.S. have never been taught how to ride properly in traffic. They may have learned how to "ride" a bike, basically how to propel the bike forward without falling. This has nothing to do with learning proper riding techniques or understanding the principles of traffic law. Is it any wonder that many people don't really know how to ride in traffic?
The classes are 9 hours over two or three days. The first class was held at the Vienna Community Center, with classroom instruction for three hours on a Thursday, and classroom instruction, parking lot drills, and the road test on Saturday. Three completed the course. The second class was held at the Reston Community Center on two Saturdays. Four students completed the course and received certificates.
Two additional spring courses are scheduled for April 22 & 24 and May 13 & 15 in Herndon through Fairfax County's Adult and Community Education program.
Labels: bicycle education, traffic skills 101
Monday, April 27, 2009
Virginia Beach bicyclists ride in honor of fallen cyclist
On April 19 Daniel Hersh was struck and killed while riding on Shore Drive in Virginia Beach. No charges have been filed against the motorist, who was overtaking the cyclist when he was hit. The crash is still being investigated. As noted by Virginia Bicycling Federation, "Under Virginia law, a driver of an overtaking vehicle must wait until it is safe to pass, then pass with at least 2 feet of clearance. Bicycles are vehicles under Virginia law."On Sunday over 100 bicyclist rode in honor of the fallen cyclist:
More than 100 bicyclists took to the streets Sunday to call attention to bicycle road safety and to memorialize Hersh, 54, who was hit while on one of his regular early Sunday morning rides.
On a sunny spring day, the group took to some of the city's biggest, busiest roads - Virginia Beach Boulevard, Independence Boulevard and Shore Drive - to demonstrate that bicyclists ride on the same roads and under the same rules as cars and they expect the same justice, according to ride organizer Wes Cheney.
A white "ghost bike" was placed near the site of the crash.On a sunny spring day, the group took to some of the city's biggest, busiest roads - Virginia Beach Boulevard, Independence Boulevard and Shore Drive - to demonstrate that bicyclists ride on the same roads and under the same rules as cars and they expect the same justice, according to ride organizer Wes Cheney.
Virginia Bicycling Federation has established the Daniel Wayne Hersh Memorial Fund dedicated to bicycling education.
Gregory and Stephen Hersh, the sons of the late Dan Hersh, have designated the Virginia Bicycling Federation as the recipient of memorial donations honoring their late father. VBF will dedicate these funds for bicycling education initiatives within Virginia–targeting motorists, law enforcement personnel, and/or bicyclists–with the goal of decreasing the incidence of future bicycling tragedies within our state.
Labels: bicycle education, virginia beach, virginia bicycling federation
