For God's sake do not acquant it with Cycling Proficiency

[Marc]

To my utter dismay the new training initiative has been anounced on Radio 4 as 'The new Cycling Proficiency' and one presenter said something like 'let my kids cycle on the road, not a chance its too dangerous'.

We certainly can't appear to use the media as well as certain other less than wholesome organisations - the pro smokers, anti speed camera brigade and 4 x 4 fans!

Can we please brief more appropriately and then we won't find Cycling Plus forum readers making less than supportive comments because they've already heard it comes out of Cycling Proficiency!

You know two weeks ago local cycling proficiency trainers were requiring kids on seeing a car to dismount and pull their bikes onto the kerb, thats was cycling proficiency meant locally. How can we have our excellent new standard compared with idiocy like that, brief robustly and don't let smug interviewers end an interview knocking our wheels out from under us.

Come marketing/publicity et al and you too Roger . . .


Continuing to train to the new standard.

Marc

Marc

[Wendy C.]

If you go through everything Bikeability is 'bringing Cycling Proficiency' into the 21st Century .....

A lot of parents will remember cycling proficiency, and immediately associate it with that, it's inevitable and after all it is an up to date version of it, only it accomodates current road conditions which are very different to those of yesteryear. But because it has been updated, it carries a new name too.

If anyone refers to it as Cycling Proficiency, just gently remind them that was then but Bikeability is now!! And that both road conditions and the way vehicles are built are very, very different and Bikeability takes that into account which is what outdates Cycling Proficiency.

Don't outlaw it totally though as some CC can't or won't offer National Standards or Bikeability but do offer the old CP training - if you look at RoSPA's Right Track it isn't so far adrift and although not NS, it does at least raise awareness and down here at least, is taught by volunteer police officers and teachers for the greater part and has to be better than nothing at all .......

Also if we knock them too hard, they will become more resilient to the changes rather than start to think about going with the times and becoming involved themselves!!

AS I said, just make a gentle correction when it is misunderstood and explain the differences, when parents then grasp the difference, they're all in favour and they are the people we need on side to get it nationwide so that councils find themselves becoming the object of protests from them!!

Wendy

[Philip Benstead]

What was the location of this training? I take children on the road in central London, with instructor at the front and one at the rear, who come forward at junctions to keep the junctions open. This is called snaking.

You know two weeks ago local cycling proficiency trainers were requiring kids on seeing a car to dismount and pull their bikes onto the kerb, thats was cycling proficiency meant locally.