Lessons In Safety For Young Cylcists

CHILDREN from Thame are learning how to cycle safely on roads this week under the expert tuition of Cathy Gaulter-Carter and John Robertson, both nationally accredited cycling instructors who trained with the London cycle training organisation CTUK early last year.

The first session began in Elms Park on the new multi-sports play area where bikes and helmets were checked before the children played games to develop their cycling and balancing skills. They had fun riding round cones, do the ?high fives? to make sure they could take their hands off the handle bars, had a slow race and practised looking behind. The final off-road exercise was ?follow the leader? when they pedalled off in a ?snake? around the park and then down the ?Phoenix Trail? to quiet roads.

During the course children learn how to start and end a journey, negotiate different junctions, pass parked cars and know when it is safer to dismount! They learn about right of way and the highway code. All these skills are included in National Cycling Standards at level 2, which replace the outmoded cycling proficiency.

Cathy, who organised the course by contacting local schools, said ?It?s great to teach children how to cycle safely and the National Standards go much further because we actually accompany the children on our bikes so that they can practise cycling in a variety of different locations. It?s great fun cycling out in a ?snake? and children become more aware of how to behave in traffic. Of course we tend to choose our routes carefully so that we avoid busy roads and this has the added bonus of showing trainees the safe routes through Thame. Cycling is such a great means of transport to go to school and I hope that as the children grow up they will continue to love riding their bikes and use them every day as I do. It?s a fantastic way to keep fit.?

Each young cyclist was given a copy of the highway code for children, Arrive Alive, and lent a video ‘Bike to Basics’ to watch with their parents. At the end of the course they are awarded a certificate to show that they have learnt how to cycle more safely. They will also be familiar with a number of safer cycling routes through Thame.

The cycling course ends with a picnic bike ride to Chinnor Village Centre along the Phoenix Trail.