Commuting - Taught my first How to Commute class

As the title suggests, I taught a class to co-workers today on Cycle Commuting in Calgary. We started a little late, so I had to blast through big sections of it. I talked about route selection, safety, bikes, accessories [lights, locks, etc.] and clothing. There was so much stuff to cover. I found out afterwards that you got points for attending the class towards a paid day off, and there were definitely a few people there who had no intention of commuting. On the other hand, a few people were taking notes ["riding on sidewalks = bad", "helmets R good"]. I even dug out my HID light and shined it around the room. Good times! Hopefully I got at least 1 person to dig their bike out and ride.

For me, the most fun part of commuting is the idea of 'playing in traffic' - in a serious sense. I get to have fun on the roadways and interact with other motorists (most of whom are courteous), instead of being like everyone else and being stuck inside a car.

Plus, by the time I get home every day, I've got 80 minutes of cardio under my belt! That's 80 minutes more than I was getting when I commuted to campus by car.

For me, the most fun part of commuting is the idea of 'playing in traffic' - in a serious sense. I get to have fun on the roadways and interact with other motorists (most of whom are courteous), instead of being like everyone else and being stuck inside a car.

Plus, by the time I get home every day, I've got 80 minutes of cardio under my belt! That's 80 minutes more than I was getting when I commuted to campus by car.
Tru dat! I think I concentrated too much on playing safe, instead of the fun aspects. I did give a plug to Bikeforums and HHCMF...

What kinds of questions did you get? I'm curious what reservations people had.

What kinds of questions did you get? I'm curious what reservations people had.

"Should I just wave the one finger when turning right, or is that just for turning left?"

"Where can I get a helmet that coordinates with this blazer?"

"Does that bell come with ringtones or will I have to download some?"

"Do I have to wear the vest all day?"

"Do you recommend a standard or automatic?"

"Whats the best place on an attache case to stick the scotchlite?"

Hopefully I got at least 1 person to dig their bike out and ride.

Why do you care so much? If this person won't like it finally, or worse, gets into an accident or gets an injury, you will be the one to blame and hate.

Why do you care so much? If this person won't like it finally, or worse, gets into an accident or gets an injury, you will be the one to blame and hate.
Why are you on this forum?

Why are you on this forum?
Troll.

Troll.
Oh.

Sounds like it would have been a fun diversion to prepare and then teach the class. Did you have a company safety or health day? Any indication that an attendee to your class will try bike commuting?

What kinds of questions did you get? I'm curious what reservations people had.
People asked about:
- hand signals
- riding on the sidewalk :D
- rights and responsibilities on the road
- what roads are safe to bike on
- what tires do you use for snow
- are you paid to endorse MEC (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_main_cycling.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395849563&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=1408474395849563&bmUID=1146696096314)?
- how much does a light cost
- Park and Ride

Nobody had reservations about commuting, except for locking up their bikes outside.

Oh.

Sounds like it would have been a fun diversion to prepare and then teach the class. Did you have a company safety or health day? Any indication that an attendee to your class will try bike commuting?
I meant bormoglot = troll.
I offered to create and teach the class in support of an "Energize Your Life" campaign here at work. They brought in dieticians, stretch therapists, started a Weight Watchers group, ran First Aid / CPR classes and more. It's pretty cool. Calgary is pretty easy to commute in, but I seemed to be the only guy in my company doing it. I thought it would be good to give some of my co-workers the benefit of my experience, and I got to talk about bike stuff out loud for an hour to a captive audience. :)

People asked about:
- hand signals
- riding on the sidewalk :D
- rights and responsibilities on the road
- what roads are safe to bike on
- what tires do you use for snow
- are you paid to endorse MEC (http://www.mec.ca/Products/product_main_cycling.jsp?FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=1408474395849563&FOLDER%3C%3EbrowsePath=1408474395849563&bmUID=1146696096314)?
- how much does a light cost
- Park and Ride

Nobody had reservations about commuting, except for locking up their bikes outside.

That's great!

I get a lot of "Gee... I would ride if I had a bike." around this place. :rolleyes: I usually can't think of a civil response to that so I keep quiet.

That's great!

I get a lot of "Gee... I would ride if I had a bike." around this place. :rolleyes: I usually can't think of a civil response to that so I keep quiet.
I always come back with, "Great! I can put you on a nice singlespeed for about $400. It will even have fenders!"

Hey, whereabouts to commute from/to? I worked in the industrial area for anumber of years, and found it to be quite irritating, to say the least. Is it easy for you? trails? I live close to my new job now, so I can walk, but I still ride about 2 hrs a day.

I always come back with, "Great! I can put you on a nice singlespeed for about $400. It will even have fenders!"

I guess their patronizing tone is a little hard to convey on the internets. I'm happy to help out anyone who shows a genuine interest.

I do have one friend who recently started commuting again. Her car is barely hobbling along, and she went all out and bought a freakin' Heron. (http://www.heronbicycles.com/) I doubt my influence had much to do with it but I'm very happy for her.

Good on you pinkrobe! Seems you and scottmorrison did a lot to promote cyclo commuting today.

Hey, whereabouts to commute from/to? I worked in the industrial area for anumber of years, and found it to be quite irritating, to say the least. Is it easy for you? trails? I live close to my new job now, so I can walk, but I still ride about 2 hrs a day.
I'm in the Marda Loop area, so it's 5km to work downtown. If you're local, I'm impressed that you're getting in two hours a day. Dedication like that is hard to find these days. Keep it up!

I guess their patronizing tone is a little hard to convey on the internets. Oh no, I definitely caught the tone. ;) My comeback was entirely sarcastic. Actually, we need a special interweb tag to denote sarcasm that automatically puts rolling eyes in the text. For example:

:rolleyes: That would be the best thing evar!:rolleyes:
It could be a new standard...

This is a great idea. I am going to get with our Continuing Education director at the college and see if she thinks a class like this would be a good one to give. Thanks for posting this idea. If she does think it might be good, I would sure appreciate any suggestions from all of you. I will post a post about it if she decides to run the class and ask for your input then.