I love my job!

EKE_38BPM

After spending all of my working life in various office jobs (marketing, merchandising, sales etc) I now have what seems to be my dream job.

I am now a Bikeability Cycle Training Instructor, teaching people how to ride (sometimes from scratch) up to riding out on the road in traffic.
Last week an eight year old girl came in on Monday with her bike on stabilisers.
I took those off straight away and spent a little while getting her on two wheels. Next was getting her riding where she actually wanted to go. Then one handed (so that she could signal) and how to do shoulder checks. After that it was out on the road and how to do all of the proper checks (passing side roads, making eye contact with other road users etc) and road positioning (junctions and out of the door zone). Lots of games to make it all fun and learning stuff even when they didn't know they were learning e.g. slow races to learn control.
By Friday we rode from her school in Marylebone up to London Zoo to have a look at the Giraffes and then into Regents Park for a hot chocolate in a cafe before going back to school.
Her confidence blossomed as she went from the weakest cyclist in the group to one of the strongest.
She may not remember me in decades to come, but hopefully she will remember the lessons I've taught her and will have a lifetime safely and happily cycling. This makes me happy.

A few weeks ago I was cycling with a ~70 year old woman who hadn't cycled for over 50 years and wanted to be able to go riding with her grand-daughter. It really is like riding a bike. She was going in no time and just needed some support/guidance. At the end of the session she was met by her son and telling him to meet her in the park with his daughter the next day so that they could all ride together. This makes me happy.

So far this week I've been soaked to the skin both days and freezing cold but I've loved it.

I love my job and rue all of the years I spent in an office, shuffling paper around, making/taking phone calls and trying to stay awake in meetings.

Who else can say that they love their job?

Tricycleboy

Nope.

Want out- reading your post makes me think i really need to get this organised.

robertsims

Love this story

rubertoe

I certainly dont!

Nice one though EKE, it certainly sounds as though you do.

msmancunia

That's ace!

(please can you teach me to ride one-handed?)

tailwindhome

There are a lot of cons to having kids - I have 4.

They are all balanced by the special moments. Teaching them to ride a bike is up there with the best of them.



2 questions

1- Can you make a 'living' doing this?
2- When you say - remove stabilisers do you mean as a balance bike or straight to pedalling?

CiB

An eight year old on stabilisers? What's the world coming to?

Sounds like a good job, although I did wonder where the tale was going when you announced that you'd taken her to the zoo...

tailwindhome

CiB wrote:

An eight year old on stabilisers? What's the world coming to?

Not to indulge in Daily Mail cliches but I think it's a symptom of single parent families.

Dad isn't there to do these things



(Christ only knows who puts the bin out)

veronese68

Where's the like button?
Really pleased to here this, good for you. I normally enjoy my work in spite of the odd gripe. But the last few days I've really felt like I'm banging my head against the wall.

greg66_tri_v2.0

Anything you like that much is not, by definition, a proper job.

Ergo, you don't commute any more. You have nothing to commute to.

So bugger off out of here and stop making us all feel bad about our lives.

Git.

EKE_38BPM

msmancunia wrote:

That's ace!

(please can you teach me to ride one-handed?)

You can't ride one-handed?! How do you signal?
Yes I can. Here goes:
Whilst riding, sit very upright (this shifts your weight back a little and makes balancing easier).
Lift one hand a little off the handle bar (we're talking millimetres here).
Look at where you want to go.
Keep pedalling as you lift your hand.

You WILL wobble. When you do, grip the handle bar as usual, get your balance again and get back on line.
Try again.
Try again.
Eventually you will go further between wobbles so lift your hand further from the handle bar.
Keep practicing.
Don't forget to do this with both hands, its no good being perfect riding with only your left hand on the bar and then all wobbly with riding with only your right hand of the bar.

TailWindHome wrote:

There are a lot of cons to having kids - I have 4.

They are all balanced by the special moments. Teaching them to ride a bike is up there with the best of them.



2 questions

1- Can you make a 'living' doing this?
2- When you say - remove stabilisers do you mean as a balance bike or straight to pedalling?

1: I have definitely taken a cut in my salary. Buying a yacht is even further away than it was before (and it was never very close at all).
I'm new to it and it has been hard getting started, but I've made some good contacts so things should be better going forward. I've just been getting into the swing of things and now the seasonal lull is kicking in.
All of the other instructors I've spoken to say it is a very seasonal job. Crazy busy in summer, thumb twiddling in winter.
I doubt I could be doing this if I had four kids and a mortgage to pay.
2: Stabilisers and pedals off.
About a quarter of an hour doing the balance bike thing (a slight slope to roll down helps). From walking to scooting to running then pedals back on and time to learn how to put the pedalling (which they already know how to do) and balancing together.


I was at a party over the weekend and the cyclists all found each other and started talking bikes. Eventually someone asked me what I did for a living and I told them. One said "I didn't know that job existed. It must be great teaching kids how to ride all day."
He was right, it is, but most of the kids can already ride so my job is about teaching them how to ride safely on the road, so I spend a lot of time shouting at them to cover their brakes, to not use their feet to stop, to do shoulder checks before changing direction/stopping etc.

TailWindHome wrote:

CiB wrote:

An eight year old on stabilisers? What's the world coming to?

Not to indulge in Daily Mail cliches but I think it's a symptom of single parent families.

Dad isn't there to do these things



(Christ only knows who puts the bin out)

Both parents still together, neither of them can ride.
All of my nephews and nieces (5 kids between my three siblings) are in single parent families and the four older ones can ride well. The youngest one is three and a bit but is riding on stabilisers (error in my opinion). I didn't teach any of them how to ride.
Like so many things in life, it depends on the parent/s, not the make up of the family.
Stop using the Daily Fail to form your opinions.

Greg66 Tri v2.0 wrote:

Anything you like that much is not, by definition, a proper job.

Ergo, you don't commute any more. You have nothing to commute to.

So bugger off out of here and stop making us all feel bad about our lives.

Git.

Old Chinese proverb wrote:

Find a job you enjoy doing and you'll never work a day in your life.

It certainly felt like a commute when I was cycling in the rain at 7:45am knowing that I had another hour on the bike and riding in primary to stop idiot drivers cutting me up.

tailwindhome

EKE_38BPM wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

CiB wrote:

An eight year old on stabilisers? What's the world coming to?

Not to indulge in Daily Mail cliches but I think it's a symptom of single parent families.

Dad isn't there to do these things



(Christ only knows who puts the bin out)

Both parents still together, neither can ride. All of my nephews and neices (5 kids between my three siblings) are in single parent families and the four older ones can ride well. The youngest one is three and a bit but is riding on stabilisers (error in my opinion). I didn't teach any of them how to ride.
Like so many things in life, it depends on the parent/s, not the make up of the family.
Stop using the Daily Fail to form your opinions.

I don't read the Daily Mail. It was a fairly throw away comment.

I form opinions partly on observation of what I see around me.

It would be foolish to suggest that this then applies to all 20 odd million kids in the UK. I didn't.


EDIT - Their local council is probably run by the Looney Left. Right thinking people wouldn't allow two non cyclists to procreate.....they probably got some sort of grant

CiB

EKE - I spent an enjoyable couple of hours in A&E on Saturday so used it wisely by re-reading most of Cyclecraft. It's v good, esp the bit for parents that recommends not putting stabilisers on the bike, just make them do it right first time. I'd heartily recommend you buy a copy of this excellent book.

EKE_38BPM

TailWindHome wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

TailWindHome wrote:

CiB wrote:

An eight year old on stabilisers? What's the world coming to?

Not to indulge in Daily Mail cliches but I think it's a symptom of single parent families.

Dad isn't there to do these things



(Christ only knows who puts the bin out)

Both parents still together, neither can ride. All of my nephews and neices (5 kids between my three siblings) are in single parent families and the four older ones can ride well. The youngest one is three and a bit but is riding on stabilisers (error in my opinion). I didn't teach any of them how to ride.
Like so many things in life, it depends on the parent/s, not the make up of the family.
Stop using the Daily Fail to form your opinions.

I don't read the Daily Mail. It was a fairly throw away comment.

I form opinions partly on observation of what I see around me.

It would be foolish to suggest that this then applies to all 20 odd million kids in the UK. I didn't.

Good.
There are a lot of single parents in my friends and family so I get a bit 'knee-jerk' in my reaction to statements about single parent families. Amongst my single parent circle of friends and family, I wouldn't be at all surprised if the 'kids' are above the national average for degrees (many have Masters degrees) and NONE have any criminal records or habits. Most of them grew up in council houses.
It is about the quality of the parenting, not the number of parents in the house.

EKE_38BPM

CiB wrote:

EKE - I spent an enjoyable couple of hours in A&E on Saturday so used it wisely by re-reading most of Cyclecraft. It's v good, esp the bit for parents that recommends not putting stabilisers on the bike, just make them do it right first time. I'd heartily recommend you buy a copy of this excellent book.

I see your Cyclecraft and raise you a Tales Of The Road. Its the DfT's 'highway code for kids'.

One of the things that points out the kids who learnt on stabilisers is them sitting on the saddle and putting both feet on the pedals simultaneously. They literally have to be taught how to sit on a bike without it (and them) falling over.

mudcow007

msmancunia wrote:

That's ace!

(please can you teach me to ride one-handed?)

just lean back slightly

faster you go more stable the bike it

bushu

Sister used to-do such things, personally i'd get fat snacking on those little munchkins :?
Having a depressing lul at work, but at least the systems I setup does as i tells em :x

tailwindhome

EKE_38BPM wrote:

msmancunia wrote:

That's ace!

(please can you teach me to ride one-handed?)

You can't ride one-handed?! How do you signal?
Yes I can. Here goes:
Whilst riding, sit very upright (this shifts your weight back a little and makes balancing easier).
Lift one hand a little off the handle bar (we're talking millimetres here).
Look at where you want to go.
Keep pedalling as you lift your hand.

You WILL wobble. When you do, grip the handle bar as usual, get your balance again and get back on line.
Try again.
Try again.
Eventually you will go further between wobbles so lift your hand further from the handle bar.
Keep practicing.
Don't forget to do this with both hands, its no good being perfect riding with only your left hand on the bar and then all wobbly with riding with only your right hand of the bar..

Funny just thinking about that this morning. Or rather how I could learn to 'undress' while riding - ie taking off a gillet and stuffing it the the jersey pocket while riding.

Presumably the technique is the same?

TheStone

Sounds like a great job, but I'm gonna be really miserable here and ask how is it paid for?

EKE_38BPM

TheStone wrote:

Sounds like a great job, but I'm gonna be really miserable here and ask how is it paid for?

I'm freelance and the companies I work for have contracts with local councils, so it is the councils who pay for it.
I am also in contact with a bike manufacturer and hope to become their Bikeability trainer, teaching their customers who want to start riding to work. I imagine this will be more lucrative but more sporadic.

EKE_38BPM

TailWindHome wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

msmancunia wrote:

That's ace!

(please can you teach me to ride one-handed?)

You can't ride one-handed?! How do you signal?
Yes I can. Here goes:
Whilst riding, sit very upright (this shifts your weight back a little and makes balancing easier).
Lift one hand a little off the handle bar (we're talking millimetres here).
Look at where you want to go.
Keep pedalling as you lift your hand.

You WILL wobble. When you do, grip the handle bar as usual, get your balance again and get back on line.
Try again.
Try again.
Eventually you will go further between wobbles so lift your hand further from the handle bar.
Keep practicing.
Don't forget to do this with both hands, its no good being perfect riding with only your left hand on the bar and then all wobbly with riding with only your right hand of the bar..

Funny just thinking about that this morning. Or rather how I could learn to 'undress' while riding - ie taking off a gillet and stuffing it the the jersey pocket while riding.

Presumably the technique is the same?

I would remove a gillet no-handed rather than one-handed and then go one-handed for the stuffing into a pocket phase of the procedure.



I do not teach this to my trainees!!!!

CiB

Do you teach them how to ride standing up no-handed whilst fishing the MP3 player out of the back pocket and then recover from the big swerve when the headphones tumble out and into the spokes? That could happen, I expect.

It's in CycleCraft, under the Ride Like A Twonk section.

EKE_38BPM

CiB wrote:

Do you teach them how to ride standing up no-handed whilst fishing the MP3 player out of the back pocket and then recover from the big swerve when the headphones tumble out and into the spokes? That could happen, I expect.

It's in CycleCraft, under the Ride Like A Twonk section.

I only teach Bikeability Levels 1, 2 and 3. I think that would be covered by level 4.

One of the girls I've been teaching this week is easily the best trainee I've had so far. Not just in her ability, which is very high, but in that she listens to what I say and does it. All apart from riding sitting down. I really have to emphasise to her that the course isn't about how well you can ride, but about riding safely on the road.
It turns out she has been riding since she was three (she's eight now), both of her parents are cyclists and they ride with her a lot. She rides a BMX, has had BMX coaching and regularly goes to a BMX track with her dad. I asked her if she had heard of Shanaze Reade, "Yeah, I've met her a couple of times too."

Seriously, this kid could go far.

Agent57

Great stuff, EKE. I'd like to do Bikeability too. I do coach at the moment (I'm a British Cycling-qualified level 1 coach, working on level 2). The club I coach at is Go-Ride and thus quite focussed on sport orientated cycling, but we go from 6 to 16, so at the younger end it's mostly about bike handling, steering, using the gears etc. Training people to ride on the road would be a great addition to my repertoire, I reckon.

EKE_38BPM

Agent57 wrote:

Great stuff, EKE. I'd like to do Bikeability too. I do coach at the moment (I'm a British Cycling-qualified level 1 coach, working on level 2). The club I coach at is Go-Ride and thus quite focussed on sport orientated cycling, but we go from 6 to 16, so at the younger end it's mostly about bike handling, steering, using the gears etc. Training people to ride on the road would be a great addition to my repertoire, I reckon.

Sounds like you are also someone who loves their work, even if it is just a hobby (which I don't know that it is).

What I would love to know is why so many parents think that their six year old needs a bike with double suspension and 21 gears? I would like to ban any bike for kids with suspension and more than six gears.

DonDaddyD

How much does it pay?

Is it enough, by itself to live off?

EKE_38BPM

DonDaddyD wrote:

How much does it pay?

How much do you earn?

DonDaddyD wrote:

Is it enough, by itself to live off?

At the moment, no. Every other instructor I've met so far also does something else. Most of them own their own business doing other things and can make their own schedules. That is my long term aim. I've just got to get trained up for that.

rubertoe

EKE, just out of interest what would you recommend as the ideal first proper bike?

EKE_38BPM

rubertoe wrote:

EKE, just out of interest what would you recommend as the ideal first proper bike?

I can't really answer that, its a bit like asking what the best road bike is.
You obviously want a quality product, you don't need suspension or gears. It'll probably come with stabilisers, take them off straight away as well as the pedals if nipper doesn't already have a balance bike. Get a bike with at least one brake, some kids bikes only have one but obviously two are better to encourage good habits.
The size of the kid will determine what size wheels (12, 14 or 16") to go for, but get the biggest that the kid can ride because they ain't going to shrink.
As far as I can tell, 'bikes' with 10" wheels are the ultimate fixies. They have pedals attached directly to the front wheel but you'll need stabilisers or it has to be a tricycle.

Think of the obvious brands of adults bikes and they probably also do kids bikes.
The Specialized Hotrock 12 is nice and light with good components but it has a coaster brake so you can't pedal back to set your pedals. This means little'un will have to scoot along to get going before they can start pedalling. This is a bad thing. Also available in bigger sizes.
The Giant Animator ticks all the boxes but I think the smallest has 16" wheels.
The Trek Jet 16 is out. Coaster brake and 16" wheels.
The Ridgeback range is really good. Aluminium frame means they're light, proper brakes and wheels, SS and no suspension. Not the cheapest though.

Islabikes' Cnoc 14 looks really good but you'll need deep pockets. Great resale value apparently though.
I've just had a look at Evans and the Dawes Thunder 12 (boys styling with water bottle holder, nameplate and mudguards) or Dawes Princess 12" (girls styling, step though frame, handlebar tassles, seat for a doll and mudguards) look like good buys at less than £90.

Whatever bike you go for, make sure that you adjust the reach of the brake levers for nipper's hands. The brake levers may be child-sized but if the reach is too big the kid won't be able to reach them. Fettle the brakes to account for the new position of the levers.
Inflate the tyres. Think about how draggy your bike feels with under-inflated tyres. Imagine a child's power output and then think about how flattish tyres feel.
Get the saddle height right.

Don't forget kids bikes aren't the most highly stressed of machines and should easily outlast one child if looked after, which also means that second hand could throw up some great buys.

Agent57

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Islabikes' Cnoc 14 looks really good but you'll need deep pockets. Great resale value apparently though.

My experience does bear this out; we see a lot of Islabikes changing hands through the club, and my sister sold my nephew's year-old example for maybe £50 less than they bought it for. YMMV of course, but they do seem to hold their value well; probably because they're generally recommended whenever the question of kids bikes comes up.

EKE_38BPM

Agent57 wrote:

EKE_38BPM wrote:

Islabikes' Cnoc 14 looks really good but you'll need deep pockets. Great resale value apparently though.

My experience does bear this out; we see a lot of Islabikes changing hands through the club, and my sister sold my nephew's year-old example for maybe £50 less than they bought it for. YMMV of course, but they do seem to hold their value well; probably because they're generally recommended whenever the question of kids bikes comes up.

The ONLY bad thing I've ever heard about Islabikes is their price, but the hold their value so well that they are, in fact, really cheap.