Cycling Presentation - Introduction to BikeEd

by Fred Oswald, LCI #947

Bicycle safety involves much more than a good helmet and some reflectors.  It requires knowing how to think and act as the competent driver of a vehicle.

The BikeEd program, sponsored by the League of American Bicyclists, teaches safe handling concepts and skills to enhance the safety and enjoyment of every ride.  These are the safest and most efficient methods for operating a bicycle.  There is much more to it than what you learned as a kid.

BikeEd instructor Fred Oswald offers a 40-60 minute seminar that describes the safest and most effective methods for operating a bicycle.  This program explains what is missing and what is wrong in traditional "Bike Safety" programs.

• The real cycling hazards and how to avoid them.
• How to use four layers of safety.
• Principles of traffic law and how they apply to cycling.
• "Bike Safety" myths and why they are wrong.
• Why wrong-way and sidewalk riding is dangerous.
• Bike lane and path hazards.
• Expert sources for cycling information.
• Special skills to avoid a crash.
• Proper position on the road.
• Ohio and local bicycle traffic laws & ordinances.
• How to keep kids safe on their bikes.

Cyclists who use the methods taught in BikeEd have a 75 to 80 percent lower accident rate than average bicycle users.  They are able to ride to work, for errands, touring, training and in competition.  BikeEd techniques will allow you to ride confidently, almost anywhere.

This lecture can serve as a prelude to a BikeEd class.  A class involves three sessions of about four hours each that include classroom lecture, parking lot skills demonstration & practice and on-road practice.  Successful participants receive a certificate.

The speaker is an engineer at NASA Glenn Research Center, a certified instructor and a cyclist with tens of thousands of miles of cycling experience, who rides to work in almost any weather over 200 times each year.  He has learned, through experience and formal training, how to ride safely and efficiently in nearly all traffic and weather conditions.

This program is best seen by using a video projector controlled by a laptop computer.  As a much less desirable alternate, the speaker can bring overhead transparencies.  The host must supply the room, projector and a screen.  The speaker will bring the program, cycling equipment to demonstrate and audience handouts.  You can see a version of this talk online.

The speaker can customize the program for city officials, traffic engineers, police, etc.  He has surveyed bicycle traffic laws in 65 NE Ohio communities and has produced a set of model municipal bicycle traffic laws.

For more information and to schedule a program, contact Fred Oswald, fredoswald_AT_yahoo_DOT_com.  The speaker's availability depends on distance to the venue from his home in Middleburg Hts.  The speaker is certified as a cycling instructor by the League of American Bicyclists

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