Safer Cycling Calgary News Blog

Parents drop off participants, making their way to the lower part of the Haysboro Community Association with their bikes. Emergency forms are completed if necessary and waiver is signed. Some participants appear nervous, others excited; most look sleepy and unsure what they're going to be doing. Bikes are placed along the wall and participants find a seat.

We begin with introductions, then start the most boring part of the week: the theory. This is essential, though, as learning the rules of the road, what to carry when you go biking, and where to ride need to be understood before we can put these things into practice.

Today's topics include:
- types of bike and bike fit
- tools and equipment to carry when you go biking
- how to do an ABCD & Me Quick Bike check (we will actually do the check once we go outside)
- helmet use and the importance of wearing a helmet
- how to keep your bike safe from theft
- re-seating a dropped chain
- fuel for biking.

We will also put a Shield on every bike and register them with Project 529. Each Shield has a unique letter combination, like a serial number and it's fun to hear some of the silly sentences participants make up about theirs. One bike, which was sadly slightly too small for Jun De, received a Shield with the last 3 letters being WTF. Hilarity ensued: there was snort laughing and I won't admit that it may have been me.

In this morning's very hands-on demonstration, participants will learn how to deal with a flat tire, including how to remove the tire from the rim, how to determine the cause of the flat, patching a tube (every participant will get a real tube to patch), and reassembling the wheel. We will also record the size of each bikes tires to help parents find a spare tube to carry along for the remainder of the week.

I have quite a large collection of tubes in my patch demo bag, ranging from a 12" to a few 26" tubes: they're real tubes but the holes in them were made with scissors or a knife. Most participants realize quickly that patching a tube takes more effort than they expected, and get frustrated when they sand their knuckles, but are excited when their patch worked. Sometimes they don't work, as Susan discovered, which is a learning moment as well: we discovered that the glue wasn't smeared on the spot where the hole actually was! It's so hard to keep track of the hole once you start sanding the tube.

Using my bike as a demonstration was fine when I had the original tires on my bike, but my replacement tires need to be filled up to 55psi to seat properly on the rim: this is very difficult to do with the little pump I carry with my bag. A non-camp Intermediate participant, Melvin, was a small 9 year old who wanted to fill his tires up to the maximum printed on the tire: 65psi. Using my full-size floor pump, it wasn't too difficult to get the first tire to 30psi, but reaching 35psi involved Melvin putting most of his body weight on the pump: when I asked if he still wanted to go to 65, his shy response was "35 is fine." LOL Participants in the camp take turns inflating the tire of whatever bike we choose to demonstrate with.

Once complete, we all go wash our hands as changing a tire is always a dirty job.

As we start our lunch break, I load up the absolutely most cheesy video I have ever seen. Made in 1989, sponsored by Triaminic - yes the cough syrup company - it is about as ridiculous as you'd expect for it's era, but it has many important lessons and the songs make it memorable.

I'm often surprised by how observant the participants are: Erin pointed out that the videos and animations projected on the chalkboard in the video appear without electricity. There's usually more than 1 participant who asks very valid questions and comments on the things that they're doing wrong in the video, compared to what I just taught them. I know they understand what they need to when they identify others doing things wrong.

After the video is done and lunch is all consumed, we pack up the room and go outside to play on the playground, rest under the shady trees or, as we needed to do with Jun De, Abdullah and Jasmine, play some tic-tac-toe and get dressed in rain wear before heading out into a rainy afternoon.

The entire afternoon is dedicated to learning essential handling skills. I do not include the full list here.

First, we complete an ABCD & Me Quick bike check to identify any problems with the bikes, repair what can be repaired (flat tires are common), and make note of things that may be a problem as the week progresses. Each participant gets a bike evaluation sheet at the end of the day, indicating any major problems with the bike. In previous years, participants did not submit photos of their bike before the course began, leading to Rukshana arriving with a bike that was at least 2 sizes too small for her. The condition of the bike was ok, but I could not allow her to continue with the rest of the camp due to the size of the bike and her inability to perform the skills necessary because of the size. Participants are now recommended to attend a pre-camp check to avoid this scenario: pulling a child from a camp results in absolute chaos for the parents, a huge disappointment for the child, and leaves a spot in the camp that could have been filled with another.

Following the bike check and evaluation of bike fit, we work on handling skills, starting with the very simple-sounding straight-line riding, in which participants try to ride on the yellow lines painted in the rink. It's not as easy as it sounds, especially when we add in shoulder checks and hand signals. Nicolas provided plenty of entertainment as he learned this skill, singing his favourite song (Sharks by Imagine Dragons) as long as possible; if he "fell" off the line, he would say the sharks bit his toes.

Using tennis balls cut in half ensures safety for learning a number of skills, including rock dodge and slalom, and act as markers for attempts at figure 8 in a box. Emmie was able to master the figure 8 in one camp, through absolute determination and continued practice: none of the others that week could complete the second turn (this is not a required skill at this level, as it's very challenging), and we were all very excited when she did.

Another weird-sounding, but useful teaching tool which I bring to camp is a pool noodle cut into thirds. No one ever guesses what this is for and I refuse to spoil the surprise: you'll have to send your child to camp to find out.

The skills that are taught today are also used to help determine whether a child is actually physically capable of continuing through the camp. Twins Hailey & Hannah had attended a First Time course the year before and were solid on straight line riding but Hannah struggled to lift her left hand off the handlebar in order to do a hand signal: without the ability to signal your intentions, negotiating a turn or lane change with automobile drivers is impossible and incredibly dangerous. As there was only one other participant in this week, I allowed Hannah to continue with the camp but she struggled all week with our rides (you didn't think I chose routes that don't turn, did you?). This was frustrating and stressful for Hannah, myself and my Assistant and is another reason I recommend attending a pre-camp check - as this was the only skill Hannah struggled with, I would have offered a discount on the Novice course and/or some practice tips, but children who are lacking in additional skills may not be ready for a camp.

The morning again starts inside the community centre as we finish more theory, today focusing on the rules of the road, and some ways to reduce the risks of riding a bike on the roads. Unfortunately, I don't have any cheesy videos to help us get through this material, but it's not as long as Monday's.

We tidy up the room and head outside to cover handling skills we didn't on Monday or continue working on some of the more difficult skills. I also put some music on my portable speaker to introduce the correct cadence. When Ryder changed into such a low gear that he nearly bounced himself off the seat, he quickly realized that you can pedal too fast. For Amara, the lack of gears means that she just got to ride around listening to some music while contemplating the challenge she will face later with hills.

In the afternoon, we make sure everyone has a full water bottle, an empty bladder and head out for our first road ride. There's a perfect loop which we complete in both directions, first with me leading, then each participant gets a turn leading. Depending on the group size and dynamics, we may have time to ride to a different playground, which turned out to be Julianna's favourite for the week.

We wrap up back at the community centre.

This morning, we ride away from the community centre, encountering "real roads" and some very intense situations that participants have never encountered before. Crossing a major road as a vehicle was too much for Kazimir, who was in tears, but with encouragement from his brother, guidance from me and a few deep breaths, the road was crossed! The relief upon reaching the other side was immense.

All of us get to experience the thrill of rolling down a hill at this point, and I am usually the only one who has a speedometer on my bike. I was very sad to reach the bottom and look back to see that Arthur had been afraid of going too fast and so had used his brakes all the way down, resulting in the maximum speed for all cyclists behind him being a less-than-thrilling 17km/h (according to my Assistant's bike computer). We do have more hills to roll down later in the week, so this was a very good learning experience.

Unfortunately, bikes that go down must go back up, and so we climb back up the hill.

After climbing back up the hill, we cross the same busy road a second time. Compared to the first crossing, the second one is far easier, and is a large confidence boost especially for those who had difficulty with the first crossing. Kazimir didn't hesitate at the second crossing, and was all smiles on the other side.

A short discussion to determine if participants need to make a pitstop at the community centre, then we ride up and over the pedestrian bridge. A road blocked for autos by large boulders to prevent cut-through is a point of discussion for route planning, as no route planning software believes we can pass on bike. We definitely can, and we do, turning the corner and climbing another hill. It was here where one of the quietest participants called out "mechanical!" and I called back that we would meet her at the top of the hill. Upon her arrival, with the Assistant Instructor, we discovered that Allison's chain had jumped off when she'd dropped to the lowest gear, which provided another learning moment for all as we got to experience how to put the chain back on.

We're all getting hungry after these hill climbs, so continue on our ride, crossing another busy road, the first in the group enjoying watching squirrels chasing each other up and down a tree while we wait for the group to make the crossing. A slight downhill allows us to pick up some speed as we ride, then we navigate a narrow walkway, a pedestrian-controlled traffic light and finally arrive at our destination: Variety Park.

After securing our bikes and cleaning our hands, we tuck into a well-deserved lunch and then play at the splash park and playground. Usually, the water is a pleasant treat, but one day, it was barely 15*C when we arrived, with a fairly strong wind: no one was brave enough to play in the water, so Josie, Benjamin and Colin made music at the Quinterra Legacy Garden instead.

When it's time to go, we make sure everyone has changed into dry clothes, left no garbage behind, and decide on our route back. Interestingly, most groups opt for the road route rather than the pathway route, though Allison's bike had me concerned so we took the slightly shorter pathway route back with her group.

Up and over the bridge again, then it's an easy couple of blocks back to the community centre. The participants have definitely earned their rest tonight!

All the music in my playlist was chosen for it's bpm (beats per minute), which falls in the ideal range for biking, but also because of the particular song. An eclectic blend of just about everything from 1970s Queen, 1980s Michael Jackson, 1990s country and dance, 2000s alternative, recent movie music (Despicable Me & Encanto), EDM (electronic dance music), modern country and a variety of pop music across many years. Not to worry, all music is "clean" with no swear words, and most has a positive message or theme. I now have a pair of speakers which can chain off each other, so all cyclists in the group should be able to hear the music all the time.

We begin our day at the community centre, where early arriving participants may get to experience the hilarity which is one of the songs which I love but is too fast for cycling: SEAGULLS! (Stop It Now). One participant, Leslie, who insisted on being referred to by his Jedi name (since the first day) needed to watch it 3 times before he could contain his laughter. In a different camp, Jason was dealing with a bit of an anxiety attack as he had fallen on Wednesday and was worried that his scrape would make biking painful; thankfully, he and my Assistant had discovered a shared love for Dungeons & Dragons and discussing it as we rode calmed Jason - he was fine the remainder of the day.

Watch "SEAGULLS! (Stop It Now)"

Our ride today weaves through 3 different communities, crosses 3 busy roads, rolls down a super fun hill, and includes stops at 2 different playgrounds before we reach our destination.

At one of these playgrounds, we have been lucky enough to share space with a wild rabbit, who was gracious enough to let us enjoy their company in fairly close proximity while we snacked, before slowly hopping away and allowing the kids to play. The same playground on a later camp had a mystery resident who we got only a short glimpse of: I believe it was a marmot. Later I looked it up: the marmot family includes 15 species, one of which is the groundhog. All groundhogs are marmots but not all marmots are groundhogs: we may have seen a groundhog but since we're not sure, we're going with marmot.

Depending on the size, ability and desires of the participants, they may get the opportunity to lead the group on the ride to our destination, receiving valuable experience making individual decisions and getting immediate feedback from me. Unless a participant, like Samantha, has a developmental disability which makes it unlikely that they can make safe decisions on their own, all participants will get an opportunity to lead the group at some point today. Samantha was an excellent cyclist but did not have the capacity to fully understand the complexities of traffic at that time due to their disability: she will need supervision for a few more years but did very well within the group.

Our arrival in Fish Creek Park was met with little excitement by Terry, as his family lives across the street from the park and he and his dad spend numerous hours riding the trails here. Fortunately, the rest of the participants haven't spent as much time here, and Terry isn't used to chilling in the park, so our lunch spot held value for all.

On one camp week, it had rained the evening before, and was a bit cool for wading in the creek, but the participants had lots of fun making mud pies, mud creatures and skipping rocks. My Assistant turned out to be amazing at skipping rocks, achieving at least 3 skips each time, even though the water was moving. Participant Bryan was a close second, getting 2-3 skips with most of his attempts. Jasmine made highly creative mud sculptures that we were a little sad to leave behind.

If the weather is suitable, and bikes are capable, participants are given the option to do a little bit of single-track riding near our lunch spot. One week, the only participant who wanted to go was Nalia, a very athletic girl, so away we went, leaving the rest of the group with my Assistant. To our great surprise, the trail was blocked by a massive downed tree. It took some interesting thinking and team work, but we were able to get our bikes over the tree and get back on the trail. The week it had rained, it was too muddy to ride the single track so we rode some of the gravel trails instead. There have been a few "perfect" camps where the conditions were great, all bikes were suitable and all participants were willing to try it: Leslie The Jedi, Susan, Nicolas and Evan had never ridden a single track trail before and despite their worries, left the trail with massive grins on their faces, wanting to do it again.

All good things must come to an end, and our time in Fish Creek Park is no exception. After ensuring that everyone has a full water bottle and empty bladder, we may take a detour to a different part of the park before beginning our ride back. Unfortunately, the ride is overall uphill, but we have good music powering us there. Hailey wanted to lead, but only if she could have me play Pharrell Williams's Happy, which I was more than happy to do. Participants who haven't yet led the group are encouraged to do so on this ride, for half or a full song on my playlist.

If the weather is suitable, we may stop at 1-2 playgrounds on the way back, and I try to get photos and videos of the group riding a particular stretch of road near one of them. Just after this stretch, we cross a busy road as vehicles via traffic light: this might be the most frustrating light I've ever encountered as the light cycle is a full two and a half minutes long and despite being wired for a sensor and next to an LRT station, there is absolutely no way to speed up the change. The approach to this light is slightly uphill and though I've ridden this road hundreds of times, I've made the light less than 10 times. Standing with our bikes while waiting for the light to change is an exercise in patience but since we're close to "home" it's not unbearable.

We ride back up the hill that we first rode yesterday, but from a different direction, making it a more difficult climb. No camp participants have had to walk this hill, though, not even Amara without gears on her bike. Allison's bike was working for this hill, and Ryder, Terry & Leslie arrived at the top looking as if they hadn't even climbed a hill at all!

Crossing one final busy road, we enjoy the slight downhill towards the community centre where I always push myself and the participants to see how fast they can go using high gears: my top speed here is 34km/h, which sadly comes to an end far too soon as we need to turn.

Another day complete, I send home tired, happy and proud participants, ready for tomorrow's adventures.

Unfortunately, Allison's bike decided to have a complete meltdown, first dropping the chain again, then actually seizing up completely. I called her parent to come get her, and while we waited, participants did their multiple choice knowledge evaluation. This is not normally when we do this, but it worked out pretty well. I connected with Allison, and her new bike, a few weeks later to complete this ride.

Our first stop is supposed to be near Variety park, where willing participants have an opportunity to ride a pump track if they desire. My bike is not suitable, so I keep watch. Jason slipped on a corner and scraped his elbow, but was patched up with a bandage from my first aid kit. One day, an adult was riding the pump track with incredible skill: the whole group was mesmerized as he went around and around with ease.

Biking is a lot of exertion and though we haven't ridden far yet, I always check the saskatoon bushes near the pump track to see if we can have a little snack. It's tough to beat a handful of fresh saskatoon berries. Before we move on, we make sure everyone has bug spray on, because getting eaten by mosquitos is not fun and there's lots of them up ahead.

Our next stop is the top of the giant hill before the Weaselhead Natural Area. The ride there is one of the most beautiful sections of pathway that I know of and I'm always in awe at the subtle changes as the seasons progress.

Riding down the hill is a bit stressful, but requires no pedaling.

Going back up the hill is another matter entirely, yet with sheer determination, tons of encouragement and massive effort, the hill is conquered. Almost everyone has made it up this hill without getting off to walk, including Amara, Jun De, Evan and Hailey, all riding bikes with no gears. There is absolutely no shame in walking up this hill, and when he failed to change gears at the right time and had to walk, we still cheered for Jason reaching the top. Terry is so strong that he wanted to ride it 10 times, but we only had time to allow him to ride down and back up a second time. My legs feel like jelly at the top of this hill after a single ride up: I can't imagine doing it 10 times in a row!

After recovering from the hill climb, we find the water fountain and then the toilet, then continue out to the community to our road evaluation. (We may have lunch in North Glenmore Park before heading out).

First we ride the loop together, ensuring that the participants see my example, then we base ourselves at a school playground, leave all bags in the shade and I head out with each individual participant. I ride behind them, saying nothing except for giving directions if necessary and correcting them if they do something dangerous, like ride too close to parked autos or turn to the wrong side of the road. Once complete, each participant gets individual feedback before I head out with the next.

I have an action camera and I like to record the evaluation: one week, I was using a chest harness for my camera and the connector wasn't tight enough, resulting in video of nothing but my knees moving up and down.

After the evaluation, if we haven't yet had lunch, we head to another playground where we eat lunch, play for a while, reapply sunscreen and then cross a pedestrian overpass and make a straight shot to the ice cream store.

After crossing the bridge, I hear a faint call of "mechanical!!" from my Assistant, far at the back and not passed forward by the participants. Turns out, my Assistant has a flat tire. A learning experience, as I challenge the participants to help. We discover that the tube has an irreparable hole, at the bottom of the valve stem, but luckily, my tires are the same size, so I can use my spare tube and in a few minutes we are back on the road. If this had been a participant's bike, or the tire had been a different size, we would have had to phone for a rescue - this is why I encourage everyone to carry a spare tube that fits their bike.

I buy everyone an ice cream, once we arrive at the store and secure our bikes. With 72 flavours to choose from, I challenge participants to try something they haven't had before, rather than sticking with vanilla, chocolate or bubblegum. A few years ago, a participant in a First Time course told me about Wet Paint ice cream. This horrible-sounding flavour is amazingly colourful, with each colour having a unique and delicious flavour. Who knew that Wet Paint would taste good? I get a different flavour every week, and though it's been difficult to choose my favourite, it's a close race between Saskatoon Pie, Blueberry Cheesecake and Moon Mist - which was a brand new tub of solid purple when I asked for a cone, and audible gasps were made by me and the participants when the ice cream scoop revealed a beautiful blend of purple, yellow and blue underneath.

At this point of the day, there's often a high chance of thunderstorms bubbling up, and getting caught in a storm isn't my idea of fun, so if the weather is looking like it might turn, we head for "home" now and complete the multiple choice evaluation in the safety of the building. If it looks good, we will complete the evaluation now, while resting in the shade of the park.

Once we've loaded up, we ride back through the community to a nearby City of Calgary swimming pool, where we can use the bathroom, but it's not a good place to refill water bottles as they don't have a cold water tap or fountain and drinking warm water isn't pleasant. Instead, we fill up at the water treatment plant before heading down the hill to the Glenmore Dam. Most participants have never been on the dam before, and are shocked at how high it is above the river, making the realization of how deep the water is on the other side. When it's not smokey, the view towards downtown is absolutely spectacular.

Nearly our last hill comes as we climb up from the dam towards the Rockyview hospital, and compared to the Weaselhead hill, this one seems so easy. If we have time, we may stop to enjoy the view of the reservoir from one of the lookout points, where we've seen the S.S. Moyie from Heritage Park, sail boats and even dragon boats on the water.

Finally as we ride past Heritage Park and return to Haysboro, our week is concluded. It has been educational, exciting, challenging and thirlling. Every week is different and despite the struggles of hauling my bike with all my equipment, extra water, lunch and first aid supplies up hill, despite the stress of mechanical problems with bikes, and despite the worry about poor weather, there's nothing else I'd rather do during the summer than teach this course.