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Entries tagged: League Cycling Instructor

The state of California has nearly 37 million residents — and scores of League Cycling Instructors. But how many of those certified bike educators are women? Melissa Balmer of Women on Bikes SoCal in Long Beach did some digging and discovered, in Southern California, there are just 20 female LCIs. This week, her organization launched an effort to change that.

Launched in November 2012 with the aim to encourage, engage and empower women to bicycle, Women on Bikes SoCal is a collaboration of Bikeable Communities, Bikestation, Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal of Long Beach and the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition. Though still in its early stages, WoBSoCal charged out of the gate with a bold agenda and innovative inaugural campaign: Let’s double the number of women and girls riding bikes by 2017. On Monday, they launched Phase 1 of their efforts by announcing the first-ever women-only LCI certification training.

Backed by scholarships, 12 women will be chosen for the program and, in return, will donate 25 hours of bike safety training to their communities. With a target training date of June 2012, Chris Quint, whose traffic video Cyclists’ Eye View is included with all training materials provided to LCI’s by the League of American Bicyclists, will serve as the lead trainer for the program, with the support of three female LCI’s.

So how does training women to teach increase female bicycling mode share? As the Alliance’s 2012 Benchmarking Report highlights, women accounted for only 24 of bike trips in 2009. And, according to Andrea White-Kjoss, founder and COO of BIkestation, empowering female instructors is key to closing the bicycling gender gap. “Bicycling is intensely personal, and it follows that, though there is overlap, the needs and desires of bicyclists differ by gender,” White-Kjoss said. “Women trainers have a distinct connection to what it takes to cycle as a woman — and they will create a curriculum that addresses the needs of women cyclists and will teach in ways that resonate with other women. It’s called targeted marketing, and it works.”

Jen Klausner, Executive Director of the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition, agreed. “As an LCI, a coach, and a longtime observer of the gender gap among bicyclists, I’m proud to be part of this very beginning of a program with great promise,” she said. “This is an unprecedented opportunity for women interested in the growing bicycle culture to really be on the forefront of social change, by earning the certification and then contributing to a regional campaign aimed at getting more women on bikes.”

Stay tuned to Women on Bikes SoCal for updates. And check out the latest edition of their e-magazine, which features Klausner and Alexis Lantz of the LACBC (pictured).

And, if you haven’t already, sign up for the first-ever National Women Cycling Forum on March 20, 2012, here in Washington, DC.

Last Saturday, on a road that’s usually traversed by cars, a crowd of eager kids from Savannah, Georgia, gathered to ride bikes and learn strategies to keep them safe on two wheels.

The Kids’ Ciclovia was the first in the city, opening the block around Tiedman Park to bike and pedestrian traffic only. The event was particularly festive thanks to members of the Savannah Bicycle Campaign and Specialized Bikes. Drew Wade, SBC’s former executive director, says the Ciclovia showcased two exciting developments.

“The first was to celebrate the opening of a new 1.6-mile bike lane on Washington Avenue, Savannah’s first in 10 years, and we hope the first of many to come,” Wade says. “The second purpose was to announce new equipment secured by a grant to SBC and the City of Savannah from Specialized Bikes — 10 bikes and 40 helmets, with the accompanying trailer supplied by the city — to be used by our LCIs [League Cycling Instructors] in teaching through schools, civic and neighborhood groups.”

The value of the grant, including the local match, rings up to $7,500, and SBC members are looking forward to using the new 10-foot trailer to take their safety training to kids across the city.

For more on the ciclovia, check out SBC’s blog. Or browse the group’s Flickr page for a gallery of (very cute) photos.