Bike Enlightenment

Photo: adult bicycling class

Two Wheel Tuesdays

Tuesday night is your night to talk, ask, and learn all about bikes and biking in Arlington! For full details, visit our Two Wheel Tuesday page.

Bicycle Education Classes

More Arlingtonians, and Washington-area residents in general, are riding bikes now than in recent years. 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 you need to incorporate bicycling into your daily routine. We also offer for adults who have never learned how to ride a bike.

BikeArlington and WABA offer 2 on-bike instructional classes: Confident Cycling (CCC) and Learn to Ride (L2R) for adults. All classes are taught by instructors certified through the League of American Bicyclists League Cycling Instructor program.

Confident City Cycling (3 hrs.) covers basic and more advanced on-bike skills such as: bicycle handling like starting and stopping, riding straight, scanning and signaling as well as vehicular cycling principles, roadway positioning, lane changes, turns and avoidance maneuvers. This class will be on-bike practicing skills and maneuvers, and includes a supervised group ride on open streets with motorized traffic. Participants must bring their own bikes, helmets, and water. Clipless/SPD shoes/pedals are not recommended for this class. Participants will be required to sign liability waivers. FREE!

Topics include:

Rules of the Road: Knowing is half the battle! Did you know that you have to adhere to the same rules of the road as a car or truck does? Did you know that you have the same rights that the operator of a car or truck does? Well its true- you do! Our course offers some great tips and tricks for safely and legally using our roadways.
Avoiding the Common Causes of Crashes: Believe it or not, most crashes are avoidable. Learn what to do if a car turns suddenly in front of you, if you have to stop suddenly, what to do to avoid the dreaded car door and much more!
Lane Positioning: Do you ever feel like cars are passing you too closely or running you into the gutter? Learn proper lane positioning to encourage drivers to pass you at a safe distance. Also learn how to safely cross lanes of traffic in order to made turns or avoid obstacles in the road.

Learn to Ride (3 hrs.) is the entry class to bicycling. This class is designed for adults who have never learned to ride a bicycle. We will employ a special technique for teaching balance, steering, starting, stopping and pedaling. We have an 80% success rate with our friendly and encouraging staff of trained instructors. FREE!

Spring Class Schedule

DATES	CLASS	LOCATION
April 13	Confident City Cycling	Quincy St Parking Deck Quincy St & 15^th St N Arlington, VA 22201
April 14	Learn to Ride	Long Branch Elementary School (parking lot) 33 N. Fillmore St Arlington, VA 22201
April 28	Learn to Ride	Long Branch Elementary School (parking lot) 33 N. Fillmore St Arlington, VA 22201
June 8	Confident City Cycling	Quincy St Parking Deck Quincy St & 15^th St N Arlington, VA 22201

Commuter Seminars

If you're interested in getting your colleagues or employees to start biking to work or incorporate biking into their lifestyle and make the best of Arlington's plentiful bicycle facilities, we've got just the thing for you! We host brown bag Commuter Seminars for employers to help get employees ready and comfortable to ride their bike in Arlington. These seminars are usually an hour long during lunch, but we can accommdate any needs, just let us know what you want. Contact our Events & Outreach Coordinator, Zanna, to schedule a seminar!

Adult Education Cycling Classes

Sponsored by Arlington Public Schools, the Arlington Adult Education program will be hosting 3 different cycling classes instructed by local Arlingtonian Allen Muchnick. Allen is a certified LCI and has been teaching bicycling and bicycle maintenance classes for almost 20 years.

Allen will be offering 1 Smart Cycling class, 4 Bicycle Maintenance & Repair courses and 4 Bicycle Mechanics Workshops.

Smart Cycling--Traffic Skills 101: Classroom and on-bike instruction in bicycling best practices for roads, paths, and groups. Learn equipment use and care, breakdown repairs, efficient pedaling, bike handling, training, vehicular (street) cycling, and crash prevention. Nine hours over two sessions. Bike and helmet REQUIRED for the second class session only. Two sessions: One 3-hour session and one 6-hour session.
Bicycle Maintenance & Repair: Lecture/demonstration on bike fit, breakdown repairs, and the inspection, adjustment, lubrication, and renovation of diverse components. Bike not required. One 3-hour session
Bicycle Mechanics Workshop: This self-directed, hands-on sequel to any other bicycle class lets you tune up, fix, or modify your bicycle or practice inspection, maintenance, or repair procedures. Bring bike(s), supplies, and inspiration. One 3-hour session.

Click here to register for classes.

photo: girl on bike

Arlington County Police Department Classes for Children

The Arlington County Police Department has officers able to provide bicycle safety instruction to groups of school-aged children when requested by a community organization such as a religious institution, civic association, service club, scout troop or youth group. Contact the appropriate District office to determine when an officer would be available.

League of American Bicyclists Classes

Youth and adult bicyclists may want to check out the Smart Cycling Classes offered by the League of American Bicyclists (LAB). Certified instructors teach a variety of classes for nominal fees to ages eight and up. Courses range from riding in traffic and emergency maneuvers to tour preparation and bicycle mechanics. Visit the LAB's calendar to search for local resources or for the name and number of an instructor near you, write to the League of American Bicyclists, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 22206, 202-822-1333 (TDD 711) or email education@bikeleague.org.