Urban Cycling Course


Do you want to get around the city by bike? The Urban Cycling 101 Course will help you build your confidence to cycle on urban streets and feel safe riding in mixed traffic in HRM. Take the course and find a sense of freedom that comes with the simple act of riding a bike.

The Urban Cycling 101 course is intended for youth and adults (16 years of age and older) who know how to ride a bike but want to deepen their skills for riding with traffic in an urban setting. The course is also helpful if you have been riding in the city for a while, but you still have a few questions about the rules of the road. You do need to have your own bike or access to a bike to use for the practical part of the course. If you don’t have a bike or access to a bike, you can rent one from Halifax Cycles.



Course Format

  • 3.5-hour course broken up into two parts
  • Part 1 – 1.5 hours of classroom learning online through the Zoom platform (Wednesdays)
  • Part 2 – 2 hours of practical training on your bike and a short group ride on the street with an instructor and other participants (Saturdays, pandemic restriction dependant)
  • Small course sizes for the in-person practical skills course (Part 2) (4-6 participants per course)
  • Delivered by Can-Bike and Making Tracks trained instructors
  • Opportunities to ask all of the questions you may have
  • You will receive a PDF course booklet via e-mail and a prize to take home (generously donated by Halifax Cycles)

Topics Covered:

  • Bike and helmet fit
  • ABC bike check
  • Road user rights and responsibilities
  • Shoulder checking and signaling
  • Traffic dynamics
  • Principles for cycling in traffic
  • Where to ride

Course Delivery

Online courses will be delivered in a 1.5 hour interactive webinar format. The course will alternate between evening and lunchtime sessions on Wednesdays. If you would like to participate you must pre-register. After you register on our website we will send you the zoom link to participate in the course online, as well as a PDF version of the course handbook. The 2-hour in-person practical skills session will be open to anyone who has completed the online portion of the course.

Download the course handbook here

Cost

The Urban Cycling 101 Course is free, and we are welcoming donations to help us cover the costs to deliver the course. We want to make the sessions as financially accessible as possible by offering them at no charge, so if you are able to contribute financially to help cover the cost of your registration (and maybe another person’s) that would have a big impact on us to continue to deliver the course and make it available to as many people as possible! We are extremely grateful for your support.

Course Dates & Registration

Stay tuned for 2024 dates coming soon!

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The Urban Cycling 101 course is delivered in partnership between the Halifax Cycling Coalition and the Making Tracks program. The course is supported by Halifax Cycles and Guitars and Halifax Regional Municipality.

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