Being an MVP-C

• What does this mean?
• Manoeuvrable: Creating space around you
• Visible: Being seen, day and night
• Overview
• Daytime visibility
• Nighttime visibility
• Lights & lighting configurations
• Clothing
• Predictable: Helping others make the right decisions
• Set up mutual communication
• Make your own decisions
• Know what’s coming
• Give advance notice
• Other ways to make it easier
• Communicative: Getting across the right messages
• Overview
• What do we need to communicate?
• How can we communicate?
• Lane choice & lane positioning
• Hand signals, higher cadence, eye contact, sound
• Think people, not cars
• Making it positive
• Putting it all together: MVP-C

Equipment

Optional: Parts of the bike

Checking your bike for safety

• ABC Quick Check
• A more detailed check
• ‘Do it yourself’ vs. ‘Let them do it’

Sizing, configuring, & adjusting your bike

• Checking for fit
• 1) Frame size
• 2) Saddle height
• 3) Saddle position: forward/back/tilt
• 4) Handlebar position
• Making adjustments

Required & optional equipment

• Brakes
Including fixed-gear bikes (‘fixies’)
• Lighting
• What’s needed, and when
• Lights & lighting configurations
• Reflectors & reflective materials
• Using more than the basics
• Helmets
• Overview
• Choosing a helmet
• Wearing it right
• Putting the helmet on
• Checking that it’s the proper size

Parking your bike

• Deterring bike theft
• Where to park your bike
• How to lock it up
• What kind of locks?
• Just in case… (insurance & registration with police)

Bike handling skills

Braking

• Practicing out of traffic
• Using the right touch
• Covering the brakes
• A two-step method
• The front brake, & how much
• If the rear wheel skids
• Both hands on the bar
• Planning ahead
• Brake on clean surfaces
• Slippery when wet
• Dry the brakes in wet conditions

Pedalling at a higher cadence (RPM)

• Physical benefits
• Communication benefits
• How fast should you pedal?

Riding in a straight line

• Three key elements

Scanning behind

• Getting a 360° view
• Steps to make it easier
• Practicing the technique
• Refining the technique

Optional section: Shifting gears

• What do we mean by ‘gears’?
• The purpose of shifting
• Derailleurs
• How many gears does my bike have?
• Choosing a gear
• What gear am I in?
• When to shift: speeding up/going downhill
• When to shift: slowing down/climbing hills
• Shifting: front vs. back
• Shifting: front & back at same time
• Reducing wear on gears & chain
• If the chain comes off

How people behave in traffic

• Your reaction to other people’s errors
• Video: It’s a 3-Way Street
• How do these behaviours come about?
• Your attitude and its impact
• Monitoring your thoughts
• Evaluating your skills
• Learning from your experiences

Your rights & duties

Knowing your true place in traffic

• The same rights & duties
• “But you don’t pay for the roads!” (Yes, we do.)

What’s the point of the law?

• Knowing what to expect
• Making decisions easier
• Demonstrating what we expect
• Our effect on other cyclists
• Deterrence & compensation
• Order & safety vs. convenience
• What a traffic ticket means to you
• The cost of a ticket

An overview of traffic laws

• Multiple levels of traffic laws
• Case law
• Where do these laws apply?
• How are the laws written?
• Drivers’ duties toward us
• Disclaimer

A summary of common cycling laws

• A quick snapshot
• Rights & duties of cyclists
• Operation of the bicycle
• Position on the road
• Sidewalk riding
• Signalling
• Riding side-by-side
• Equipment requirements
• Drugs & alcohol
• Other
• Bicycle as a vehicle
• Electric bikes
• Registration & licensing
• Parking
• Collision

Scanning & signalling

Scanning for traffic

• Why it’s important
• Review of steps to make it easier
• When to scan
• Using mirrors

Signalling

• Why it’s important
• What we need to signal, and tips to make it easier
• Turns
• Lane changes
• Change of position within a lane
• Stops
• Pulling onto the roadway
• Waving thanks
• Signalling—how, and how often?

Putting it all together

• Scan, Signal, Scan, (if it’s safe) Go.
• How this looks in real life

Choosing your place on the road

Choosing a lane & lane position

• A reasoned approach
• Seeing things from a driver’s perspective
• Ride with traffic
• Risks of wrong-way riding
• How to choose your lane position
• Avoiding roadside hazards
• Giving ourselves space
• How far right?
• When you can move left
• Controlling the lane
• How this helps drivers
• What your options are
• Communicating with others
• Some important considerations
• Riding on one-way streets
• What does controlling the lane look like?

Parked cars

• The potential risks
• What’s a safe distance?
• Legal responsibility for drivers & passengers
• What a safe distance looks like

Bike lanes

• Do we have to ride in them?
• What are your options?

Intersections

Lane position at intersections

• A, B or C position?
• Common driver errors at intersections, and how to discourage them
• Stopping at an intersection
• Positioning in bike lanes and at 4-way stops
• Travelling through the intersection
• If you ride in ‘C’ position
• If a driver turns across your path
• Regardless of what lane position you take…
• Right turn only lanes

When stopping is required

• Stop signs & red lights
• What might you miss?
• Go! No, stop!
• Fewer decisions are needed
• Drivers’ perceptions
• The cost of a ticket
• What is the point of the law?
• Where to stop

Right of way

• Don’t assume you have it
• First come, first served
• Yield to the person on the right
• Yield if you are turning
• Taking your turn
• Pedestrians’ right of way
  • Which is a legal crosswalk?
• Communicate with others

Traffic lights

• Why a green light doesn’t mean ‘go’
• Judging the timing
• Starting off quickly
• Triggering traffic lights

Making turns

• Right turns
• Left turns
• Changing lanes: moving from ‘C’ position
• Changing lanes: with traffic around you
• Changing lanes: signalling
• Changing lanes: with no traffic around you
• Using the gaps
• Preparing for the turn
• Lane position for the turn
• Waiting position
• Making the turn

Traffic circles & roundabouts

• Efficient, but confusing for some
• Order of priority
• Go clockwise around the center
• Signal directly before you exit
• Video: How it looks in real life

Riding:

• on sidewalks
• near buses & trucks
• side-by-side
• on paths & trails

Summary & feedback

• Includes an option for a brief survey so you can let us know what you think of the course.