Bikeability: Two Landmark International School, Cambridge student diaries of their experiences

Year 5 and 6 students were invited to participate in Outspoken's Level 2 Bikeabilty course. Have a read of these blog posts to see how they got on!

Bikeability Diary by Elias, Year 6

Outspoken is the company which does bikeability. Bikeability is a Y5/6 feat when we learn how to ride bikes on roads. We also learn how to behave on roads. It goes on from Monday-Thursday. Now for the rest of the blog.

Day 1-Monday

Today we learned how to check our bikes using ABCDE from the teachers Donna and Sandra. It started when I arrived at school with my bike lock, helmet and bike. At 11:00 me and the other Y6s went to the playground and with our bikes. And then we met the teachers. Here is what ABCDE stands for.

A is for air. We squeeze our tires a bit to see if they are roadworthy (they can go on roads all of these are necessary to be roadworthy) if they are hard then that is good if they are soft then they need to be pumped.
B is for brakes. It is when we test our brakes by walking the bike forward and then squeeze the brakes together, ideally the left one first. Followed quickly by the right. It is the best way to stop your bike without flying.
C is for chain. Stand your bike up still and spin the pedal around. If the chain moves smoothly then it is ready.
D is for direction. Grab your handlebars and squeeze the legs in between them then move the handlebars.
E is for everything. It is when you check all again and make sure your seat is just the right height for you, you are wearing highly visible clothes and you are wearing a helmet that fits you.

If you have a problem with your bike like your seat is too low then the instructors will be there to help you. Unless the frame of the bike is cracked or damaged ,scratches do not count, then you need a new bike since the frame cannot be replaced. Bikeability is really fun and helps us later on in our lives when we want to ride our bikes to get fit and have fun. We then started to do a circuit around a ring of cones and after that some of us were number 1 and others were number 2. Whenever our number was called those of that number would go through two rows of blue cones going down the middle then check to see if anyone was coming and rejoin the circuit until they arrived at their entry point in which it would happen again until the next number was called. After that you would go down or up either end of the row going up the middle. Finally we started the snake which is a row of us when we are on the road to go to places. The rules of the snake are no talking unless it is passing down messages, always listen to the instructors. Overall it was a really fun experience and I loved every minute of it.

Day 2-Tuesday

Today we went to Cow Lane, Fulbourn and learned how to U-turn and what to do when a car is parked in your way. What you do is you cycle around the car keeping a car door away from the vehicle. When I was doing it for the second time that day a car pulled over and parked right in front of me. To do a U-turn you must look around and after checking you are safe turn back around to head back the way you came. It is really enjoyable and to help demonstrate. Donna and Sandra (the instructors) took turns watching us and demonstrating. Often some children would try to sneak off to the queue where people were waiting to have their first, second or third go. It was even better than before. We also did our first snake on the roads of Fulbourn for this week.

Day 3-Wednesday

Today we learned about turning in and going past a T-junction. For the lesson we went to Greater Foxes, Fulbourn. To go past a T-junction you when going past have the right of way remember to always look behind you and when passing the junction look down the junction and if anything is coming up the junction then continue unless it is a ambulance, police car of something like that with sirens on then they not you have the right of way, this is called priority. When turning into the junction first look behind you, this is just before you reach the junction and if there are vehicle/s behind you then signal by raising your left arm to go left and right arm for right when you are at the junction and lower your arm. We also learned when joining on to a road from a junction to look down either side of the road and if there are vehicles behind you signal which way you are going to go. If there are cars using the road you are trying to join then do not go since they have priority over you in that situation. Remember to always look behind you and look up. I hope tomorrow will be amazing since it will be the last time I ever do it.

Day 4-Thursday The last day of Bikeability

Today was our final day. For it we recapped junctions and did on Cherry Orchards, Fulbourn it was really near Cow Lane and we learned first from a demonstration by Donna and then we learned from our feedback then they led us back to school where we were shown the certificates and badges we will get in two weeks time. Finally we said goodbye to our instructors Sandra and Donna. It was the last time I will ever do Bikeability again unless they do Y7 highly unlikely though. I really enjoyed Bikeability and the week.

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Bikeability Diary by Jayden, Year 5

Monday 26th April 2021

Yesterday was the first day of Bikeability. Bikeability is about learning how to cycle properly, and how to cycle on the roads safely. Bikeability will take place over the next 4 days, I am excited to do Bikeability. Today we learned how to stick our arms out without falling off and we also practiced turning around corners. We did this all in the school grounds. My bike is good but I would like to get a bottle holder because it’s easy to forget my water otherwise. The weather was very sunny, also a bit windy. This weather is good to cycle in, although the wind could have blown me off my bike. Luckily I have my helmet on so if I did fall off it would protect me from hurting my skull.

Tuesday 27th April 2021

On day 2 we went on to the road to practice the skills we learned on day 1. We also learned some new skills, for example U-turns and passing a parked car. I was very scared at first to begin on the road because I didn’t feel that comfortable being around a busy road. However, I got used to cycling on the road and by the end of the session I felt very confident about cycling on the road. I am looking forward to doing more cycling on the road in the next few days of Bikeability. There was a tiny bit of rain and wind today but not as much wind as yesterday.

Wednesday 28th April 2021

On day 3 we learned how to turn at a junction and signal to turn down a road. We also learned the snake when cycling as a big group, and the “ABCDE” check which is what we must do before we use our bikes. I felt very pleased with myself after I did it because I now know how to signal and turn safely by myself. I feel proud of myself for completing this challenge because the previous day I was feeling a bit scared but today I proved to myself that I can do it. The weather was similar to day 2, we had a bit of spitting rain but it didn’t stop us from completing day 3 of Bikeability.

Thursday 29th April 2021

Today is the last day of Bikeability. Hopefully we will all pass our Bikeability course at the end of the day. The weather looks hopeful so I’m sure that we will have a good day of cycling. This course has made me feel really proud of myself and my classmates because we managed to get through it without any injuries. I’ve made some friends from Eagle class this week, which has made me feel happy. I would like to thank Sandra and Donna for teaching me this week and making me feel comfortable with cycling.