For immediate release: Monday June 25, 2001 City's new Paramedics on Bikes are prepared to hit the road, with Cycling Skills Training The new City of Ottawa Bike Paramedic team is ready to hit the streets safely and efficiently, after graduating from an 18 hour cycling skills course run by Citizens for Safe Cycling. The City will officially present the paramedic team at 9:30 a.m. Monday morning at City Hall. The 18-hour CAN-BIKE 2 cycling skill skills course that the bike paramedics graduated from last week includes: * classroom lectures on where to ride on the road, the Highway Traffic Act, causes of crashes and countermeasures, physiology of cycling, riding in adverse conditions, and basic bike maintenance and repair * parking lot drills in emergency handling and hazard avoidance * on-road cycling in different and complex traffic conditions and roads The Bike Paramedics received instruction from a member of their own team, Frank McGregor. Frank started teaching cycling skills courses with Citizens for Safe Cycling in 2000. He taught at the CfSC / police "Bike School" last summer, a mini safety course that unsafe and unlawful cyclists who were caught by police had the opportunity to attend, instead of paying the fine. The CAN-BIKE 2 course is the standard for professionals using bicycles in their work, including police, bylaw enforcement officers, and teachers and camp counsellors taking youth on bike trips. Each year the course is also taken by ordinary Ottawa area cyclists seeking to improve their confidence, skill and efficiency riding in traffic. And the paramedics' response: very positive. "I loved the course," said one. "I feel much more confident in traffic now. I would highly recommend the course to anyone who rides a bike." Another echoed that recommendation, adding that the course changed "the way I think as a motorist as well as a cyclist." All instructors teaching the course are nationally accredited by the Canadian Cycling Association (CCA), which developed the courses. This course and other cycling skills courses for children and adults have been offered by Citizens for Safe Cycling since the late 1980s. Other CAN-BIKE cycling skills courses offered by CfSC include: * Kids CAN-BIKE: an course geared for 10 to 14 year olds * CAN-BIKE Traffic Skills: a one-day introductory course for less experienced cyclists * Learn to Ride: for adults who have never learned how to ride a bike but would like to take up the pleasures of cycling. If you are interested in becoming an instructor for any of these CAN-BIKE courses, we would love to hear from you! Please contact CfSC for information on how you can teach adults and kids how to be safe cyclists. Think about it-getting paid for having fun! For more information about CAN-BIKE cycling skills courses offered by CfSC, or the City of Ottawa Bike Paramedics, please see our web site at http://www.cfsc.ottawa.on.ca - 30 - Contact: Jennifer Allen, CfSC Cycling Safety and Promotion Program Coordinator, 567-1288 or [EMAIL PROTECTED] -- Jennifer Allen Coordinator, Cycling Safety & Promotion Program Citizens for Safe Cycling 251 Bank Street, Suite 504 (at Cooper) (613)567-1288 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Http://www.cfsc.ottawa.on.ca/ ------ To unsubscribe, send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Club Office: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Web/mailing list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb Newsletter: [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.cyberus.ca/~obcweb/Newsletter ==^================================================================ EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?aVxiDo.a2i8p1 Or send an email To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] This email was sent to: [email protected] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
