Next on the timetable: double cycling? Calls for cycling proficiency to appear on the school curriculum

Very, very strange.

The article is dishing swimming over cycling. Is this just another BS article?

Teach, or rather learn to use your Common Sense and then cycling proficiently will follow.

There should a more general emphasis on a range of PE in schools. Cycling isn't part of it. Emphasis on "range of PE". And more PE rather than the couple of hours it currently seems to be.

good to hear from others that the instructors are experienced cyclists. My kids did cycling proficiency about 10 years ago now. My eldest was already an avid cyclist and he thought the training would be fun. It was dreadful though and not done by experienced cyclists but by someone that aparrently needed a job and this one was available.

Aparrently his saddle height was dangerous and she moved his saddle down until he could place both feet flat on the ground as if he was riding a hobby horse. Sh had never heard the term "door zone" which I taught him and which is well used and actually pretty obvious even if you have another term for it. These and other bits of nonsense like not cycling further than half a metre from the pavement.

The instructor took what joy possible there was in cycling for a 10 year old and made it a difficult miserable and counterproductive experience.

I am all for training. I do worry though that in making cycle training compulsory for all kids Not just those that want to learn, you'll end up recruiting hoardes of non-cyclists and lower the standard of training. The ones that never want to cycle anyway will have wasted their time and the ones that need good training may well end up with a numpty trainer who spends most of their time trying to get kids that can barely balance to not fall off and ignoring the ones that want to learn some skills because well..they can already ride well enough to not fall off and bother the trainer. It's a terrible idea.

I think schools should say that if you want to ride your bike to school you need to do the training. If you don't ride to school but are interested and want to do it then great.

But compulsory training for all will be so lowest common denominator it will be counterproductive.

I'm not sure Dad using his phone as he rides behind his kids is quite what we're looking for, though.

Also did a bike ability style course and tbh one of the things that came out was riding in the primary position and 2 abreast.

Normally we ride single file on main roads but was interesting how riding two abreast does mean it's safer for cyclist the problem is that 70% of drivers hooted us and our group.

Bike ability is great but for many cyclists in reality carrying out their advice will result in more road rage towards themselves.

I think cycling education is vital, given the current state of Britain's infrastructure, to make children aware of the risks of cycling on a road. Inconsiderate or ignorant road users (either motorised or not) and badly-designed roads are everywhere and an educated, confident cyclist will be much more likely to negotiate those risks successfully and enjoy a lifetime of cycling.

However, the primary goal still has to be to address infrastructure to make cycling inherently safer in the first place. Improve road designs, invest in well-appointed cycle paths and education will be less necessary.

Well, I qualified as a bikeability instructor earlier this year and was a co-instructor for the first time this week. We had kids with BMXs and just raised the saddle. In fact bike size was the major problem for some kids. I was in the countryside, Suffolk, but there were still plenty enough cars for the Year 5 kids to deal with. To be honest we could have done with more time to practise things more. Not everyone passed. In fact about 75% is the normal rate. I suspect very few of the cyclists here follow the national guidelines properly as I see many cyclists in kit not following the rules I teach e.g. distance from parked cars, side roads, checking behind etc.

Instruction and some improved infrastructure in busy areas are the way forward.

A lot of people claim that safety is an issue but is it really an excuse? Perhaps they say that because they don't want to say, "I'm lazy and out of condition so I prefer to use my car."

My kids did a bikability course which was great. I know the trainer which helped as well. They're both experienced riders but needed proper road training.

In our part of London, bikability courses often focus on scooter training for year 1 and year 2 kids. Several of the kids in the BMX Club had to do this and were less than happy about it. If you ask me, the scooter training is a waste of resources as it's pitched so low in terms of ability/skills.

Our cycling club has been pushing to have sessions with local schools. The coach did a few sessions with one secondary school but we're trying to arrange more. BC is helping with cycling in the community in London but it's like a bottomless pit almost as there's so much more that can be done.

My older did daughter did Bikeability at school which was great with good instructors but then the school had a policy of not allowing children to cycle to school because "the nearby main road is too dangerous"

Think it would be reasonable to challenge local authorities to meet a couple of criteria:

Develop for all schools a cycle to school plan identifying what needs to be done to convert it from a plan to actually happening (I think in England individual schools have to drive it the other way? so some Schools bang their heads trying to get it done and others don't bother and parents bang their heads)

Ensure that all children in all communities have access to somewhere safe to cycle. Now that is a big call and by this I mean without being driven to a shared use facility / trail - being able to access quiet roads / shared paths / trails that give meaningful exercise or access local facilities from home.

and a PS and I know a lot of bikeability instructors try hard to balance liability but "the rules" need to make it fully inclusive by allowing kids with BMX's to do it irrespective of brake arrangements etc etc- some of those kids need it most