Why aren’t training or tests mandatory for riding a bike?
JULIEN PAPON
Special to The Globe and Mail
Published
Last updated
Last updated
I drove my first car at age 12 in an open,
hard-packed snowy field. After a couple of hours, I could go forward,
clutch in and out, use the first two gears at low speed, go around cones
and even drive back.
While the
rear-wheel drive ’77 VW Kombi was a great deal of fun at the time, three
years later it would take many more hours beside an instructor before
being able to drive a car safely and legally.
So why does everyone believe, from age 5
and up, that they know how to ride a bike properly? Sure, once you get
the hang of it, keeping balance while going in straight line with no
obstacles and no traffic around is not a hard task. But is it really
enough to say you know how to ride a bike adeptly?
No
way. Like driving a car, riding a bike takes specific skills. Most
parents aren’t equipped to teach their kids the fundamentals of bike
handling. Think of techniques such as proper posture on the bike and
weight distribution, hand position on the handlebars, pre-emptive
shifting and braking modulation, effective use of signalling and
peripheral vision, and so many other bits and pieces that make for a
safe ride.
Unlike driving, where basic
training is mandatory and skills are tested at some point to get a
licence, there is no such thing for biking. Most people have no idea
where to actually learn those skills. Many live with their fears and shy
away from saddling up, particularly in the urban environment.
Here are two experiences I’ve tried that yield skill learning and fun:
Visit
a bike park, a place often packed with kids riding BMXs. I spent quite a
bit of time at one in Markham, Ont., called JoyRide 150. The indoor
facility covers more than 9,200 square metres, is filled with obstacles
of all kinds and offers instruction and rental bikes. You learn to
create stability by properly positioning your centre of gravity and
using arms and legs to anticipate seen or unseen obstacles. Once through
short-loop pump tracks several times using the right techniques, you
will be ready for most things road terrain has to throw at you.
The
second is to ride on an indoor velodrome, an oval cycling track with
steep banks usually made of wooden planks for indoor facilities. The new
Mattamy National Cycling Centre in Milton, Ont., makes this type of
experience more accessible. The track’s learn-to-ride-the-track programs
will safely push you out of your comfort zone and teach great biking
skills. The rental bikes there won’t have gears or brakes; they will not
have free-wheel, either. Managing your cadence – how fast you’re
pedalling – will be a must, and that is one of the many transferable
skills that will do you wonders on the road, trail or path.
Next time you want to saddle up, don’t assume you know how to actually ride a bike.
Learn first.
