Help is at hand! Take the Smart Cycling™ course offered through the Lancaster Bicycle Club. This course will give you the basics you need to more fully enjoy your bicycle. You'll get hands-on practice under the guidance of a highly experienced Instructor, specially trained and certified by the League of American Bicyclists. For a full description of the Smart Cycling program, please visit
When: The next Smart Cycling class is on Wednesday September 11th from 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm and Saturday September 14th from 9:00 am – 12:30 pm. A paid $25 registration secures your place in the course. The course is open to members and non-members. LBC members who attend both sessions will get their deposit returned and receive one year’s free club dues ($21). Non-members can take the course for the non-refundable fee of $25.
Where: The first session is in Room 203 of the East Bldg. of the
HACC Lancaster. The East building is clearly marked on the outside. Room 203 is on the right just inside the main entrance from the parking lot in front of it. The second session is in HACC's North parking lot, the lot closest to Pitney Road. The entrance to the campus from Pitney Rd. is usually closed on weekends (although you can get in by bike), so you’ll need to enter the campus from Old Philadelphia Pike.
Instructor: Bill Hoffman, LCI #33
Equipment required: your bicycle and helmet. Also recommended are a bike-mounted water bottle and pump, and spare inner tube and patch kit. You'll find out what tools you'll need during the course, but you probably already have some of them around the house. Bring your bike and helmet to each class.
NOTE: Bikes with coaster brakes (foot-operated) are not accepted. These brakes are not as safe as hand-operated brakes. Disk brakes are OK. Single-speed bike are OK but may handicap you climbing hills.
Why you should take the course: Whether you're a beginner or not, there is a lot to learn in Smart Cycling. Everyone who takes it leaves at a higher skill level than when they entered. Smart Cycling may well be different than what you were expecting. Its primary emphasis is on vehicular-style cycling, which has been proven to be the safest and most efficient way to ride. You may be wondering-why 6 hours to learn bicycling when I already know how to ride?
Several reasons:
1. We teach bicycle driving, not riding. There's a big difference. Much of the training you may have previously gotten, while well intended, is actually misguided, or in some cases, just plain wrong. Unlearning old, bad, habits usually takes longer than learning new ones from the start.
2. The emphasis is on hands-on learning and supervised practice, and that takes time. You might eventually figure out all these things on your own, but it'll take you much longer and you might make some costly mistakes in the process. Even if you do pick up the skills on your own, you won't know if you're performing them properly without an experienced instructor observing and coaching you. You might actually find yourself wishing for more class hours.
If you have any questions, contact
Bill Hoffman or call (717) 560-3636.