Resources - Classes

Bicycle Maintenance Classes & Do-It-Yourself Shops

Contact these bicycle retailers for information about their in-store bike maintenance classes:

• Actual Café
  Free Bike Workshops provided by BikeMan Dan every first Sunday of the month from 2 – 3 PM.
• Bicycle Works
  Classes on the third Wednesday of every month at 7 pm
  3335 Solano Ave
  Napa, CA
  (707) 253-7000
• The Bike Kitchen
  The Bike Kitchen is a non-profit organization in San Francisco that teaches anyone how to repair and maintain bicycles. They offer maintenance classes and open shop time to work on your bike.
• The Bikery
  The Bikery is a non-profit community bike shop in Oakland that offers a range of services, including open shop time where folks can come in and work on their bikes.
• Mike's Bikes
  Free classes every Wednesday at 6 pm
  Locations include Berkeley, Palo Alto, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Rafael and Sausalito
• NorCal Bike Sport
  Free clinic first Thursday of every month from 6:15 pm to 8 pm
  425 College Ave
  Santa Rosa, CA
  (707) 573-0112
• Spokeland
  Located in the Golden Gate district of Oakland, Spokeland is a non-profit, community-driven bicycle cooperative aiming to reach out locally and foster local unity.
• Sports Basement
  Free maintenance classes the first Tuesday of each month. All locations including Presidio, Bryant Street, Sunnyvale and Walnut Creek.
  
  At the Sunnyvale location, classes focus on different maintenance topics. Call their store for upcoming classes at (408) 732-0300, or check their store events listing.

CLASS SCHEDULE

Ride on Two Wheels
When: Every 2nd Sunday, from 10 AM – 12 PM
Where: 1522 Park Street, Alameda
Ages: All
Phone: 510-522-0070
Register: More info

Traffic Skills: Classroom Workshops and Road Classes – Berkeley, Pleasanton, Alameda, Oakland, and Hayward
When: April - June 2013
Learn basic rules of the road and how to share the road with cars.
More info

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS

Classes for Adults ("Street Skills for Cyclists" and "Road I Day 2")

Street Skills is a 4 hour (optionally 6-hour) lecture-and-discussion class suitable for adults and driving-age teens. No bicycle is required unless you’ll be riding it to class. Depending on the instructor and the local program, the class may be offered as two or three 2-hour sessions instead of a single 4-hour session.

For adult and teen students who would like to follow up with on-bike training and earn a completion certificate, the Street Skills class also serves as the first module of the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) “Road I” class.

Road I Day 2 is 6 to 7 hours long, and is typically offered on a weekend day. A working bicycle and helmet are required. Street Skills (Road I Module 1) is a prerequisite. Some lecture and discussion material is presented, but most of the day is spent learning and practicing on-bike skills. The class includes a multiple-choice written exam and an on-bike exam (off-street and on-street, in both residential and commercial environments). Students who score 80% or better on both exams earn a completion certificate.

Students may take Street Skills and Road I Day 2 from different instructors if:

• Both instructors are teaching the "Street Skills / Road I Day 2" format described here
• The Road I Day 2 instructor approves and verifies the student's attendance with the Street Skills instructor, and
• The student complies with any applicable Road I Day 2 registration conditions and fees.

For more information on classes for adults, including those learning to ride a bicycle for the first time, see the class descriptions on John Ciccarelli's Bicycle Solutions website.

Classes for Parents ("Kids 1")

Kids 1 is a 2-hour classroom seminar for parents and guardians of children up to age 10 (it is not a class for children). One local instructor calls it "Bringing Up Bicyclists". Topics include:

• Perceptual and ability differences between children and adults
• Basic requirements for parents to help their children to ride safely
• Mistakes children make when bicycling
• Basic skills that need to be taught

Most instructors teaching Kids I show the video "A Kid's Eye View".

Instructor Qualifications

All classes listed below are taught by League Cycling Instructors (LCIs). To become an LCI, a cyclist must complete LAB's Road I class with grades of 85% or better on both exams, and then become certified at LAB's 20-hour LCI Seminar, which covers teaching techniques.