Arlington Offers Bicycle Riding Classes for Adults

Do you normally roll your bike in your neighborhood or on the trails, but are curious about riding on roads with traffic? Maybe you commute to work on the streets and feel a little tense when a car passes you. Or maybe you’re an adult that never learned to ride a bike, and has decided “Now is the time, goshdarnit!” Well, Arlington has got classes that can help you do all that and more.

To promote safe and fun riding, Arlington County and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) are offering bike education classes to teach you the skills needed to incorporate bicycling into your daily routine.

The county has two on-bike classes: Confident Cycling (CC) and Learn to Ride (L2R) for adults. All classes are taught by instructors certified through the League of American Bicyclists League Cycling Instructor program.

City Cycling (3 hrs.) helps adults ride on streets comfortably and confidently. The class is divided in two groups -- each group learns different drills and goes on an educational ride highlighting different aspects of city riding.

The Intro to City Cycling group learns confident control of the bike in all situations. You will use these skills every time you ride, according to program organizers. This group goes for a ride on a nearby trail and learns about dealing with traffic, clear communication, proper use of trails, and the trail-to-road transition.

The Confident City Cycling group learns advanced bike handling maneuvers. These techniques can get you out of some dangerous situations. This group goes for a ride on the roads and learns about bike infrastructure, lane control, communicating with drivers, and effective road behavior.

Cost: Registering for the course is $10. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a $10 gift card to a local bike shop.

Learn to Ride (3 hrs.) is designed for adults who have never learned to ride a bicycle. The county will employ a special technique for teaching balance, steering, starting, stopping and pedaling. The program has an 80 percent success rate with a friendly and encouraging staff of trained instructors.

Cost: Registering for the course is $10. Upon completion of the course, you will receive a month of free Capital Bikeshare membership (a $25 value) to help you try out your new skills.

Arlington Schedule:

Sunday, September 28: Adult Learn to Ride

Saturday, October 18: Adult Learn to Ride

Sunday, October 10/19: City Cycling

View the Regional Course Calendar here.

PHOTO courtesy of Arlington County