Intermediate Bike Skills
Want to take your cycling experience to the next level?
Intermediate Bike Skills is a course for people who have mastered the basics of riding a bike and are looking to become more confident riding on city streets and pathways, please see our FAQs below for what cycling level is required to take part in Intermediate Bike Skills.
This small group 2 hour session will start with a refresher skills session and progress to a Road Ride in the local community. When riding on the road our courses maintain a 1:6 instructor-to-participant ratio to ensure optimum safety and plenty of instructor attention.
The Intermediate Skill Practice session includes:
- Basic bike fitting and safety checks
- An off-road skills session to practice shoulder checks and basic maneuvering.
- A pre-planned Road Ride (of about 8 km) where you'll learn about the safest place on the road to ride, how to maneuver your bike effectively, how to communicate with other road users, safety tips, and more.
2024 Course Schedule:
Thank you to everyone who joined our courses in 2024! We will release our course schedule for spring of 2025 in early March.
Interested in being the first to know about our course registration in 2025? Please fill out our Course Interest Form here!
For information on adaptive cycling programs at our StreetWise Cycling Education Centres, please visit Spinal Cord Injury BC’s Adaptive Cycling webpage.
FAQs
What skill level is required to take part in the Intermediate Bike Skills?
In order to take part in this course, you should have basic bike handling skills (you should be able to start, stop and pedal on a bike for at least 100m) and a basic understanding of the rules of the road. If you do not have basic bike handling skills, you can acquire them by taking our Beginner Bike Skills course. If you do not have a basic understanding of the rules of the road, we ask that you take our free online course, StreetWise Cycling Online course before joining an Intermediate Bike Skills lesson.
Where are lessons held?
Vancouver: The lessons will take place next to Trout Lake Community Centre, on the Trout Lake close field (link to google maps location here)
Richmond: The lessons will take place behind the Thompson Community Centre, exact location pending.
Do I need a bike and helmet?
If you have your own bike and helmet, please bring them to the lesson. If you don't own a bike or can’t transport it to the lesson location, we will have a fleet of 15 bikes and helmets that participants will be able to use for the duration of the lesson.
How can I get my bike to the lesson spot?
You can bring your bike inside a personal vehicle, on a vehicle's bike rack, on a bus bike rack, or Skytrain car. If it's your first time using a bus bike rack or bringing a bike on transit - check out TransLink's helpful tips beforehand. All Metro Vancouver buses are able to take 2 bikes on their front racks.
How can I get to Trout Lake Community Centre?
Trout Lake Community Centre is located in the southwest corner of Trout Lake Park (3360 Victoria Drive). You can find transit options via Google Maps . There is free parking available outside the Community Centre (located near Victoria and 15th). Nearby cycling routes can be found here.
How can I get to Thompson Community Centre?
Thompson Community Centre is located at 5151 Granvile Avenue in Richmond. You can find transit options via Google Maps. There is parking available to the north of the Community Centre. Nearby cycling routes can be found here.
Do you offer lessons for more advanced skills?
Yes, Advance Your Ride is a 2-day course for people that want to increase their skills and knowledge about riding in a wide variety of urban street settings. You can sign up here to be notified when we run an Advance Your Ride course. We will also be running webinars on a range of topics, starting in April 2023. You can find dates and recordings of the webinars here.
If you have any more questions, please contact streetwise@bikehub.ca