CAN-BIKE

What is CAN-BIKE?

The Canadian Cycling Association CAN-BIKE program is a series of courses that provide education on utilitarian and recreational cycling with a focus on cycling safety. The program provides a nationally standardized set of courses that can be taught through a variety of organizations by CAN-BIKE instructors who are both nationally certified and highly skilled cyclists (canbike.net).

CAN-BIKE 1 is a cycling course for enhancing your ability to ride defensively on your city’s residential streets and minor arterials. The course is 13 hours in length, occurring over one weekend with both indoor and outdoor components. CAN-BIKE 1 is being offered at an on-campus location to encourage cycling as a viable commuting option and to educate for safe cycling at McMaster and within the broader community. For more information, please click here.

Register for CAN-BIKE 1 here, under “Sports/Martial Arts”. You must have a MAC ID to register.

This course is being offered in collaboration with students enrolled in Sustain 2A03, the Office of Sustainability and The Hammer Active Alternative Transportation (THAATDelivery), with the goal to support cycling at McMaster and within the broader community through promotion, education and communication. 

CAN-BIKE 1 Course Information

Date*: Friday March 22 – Sunday March 24

CAN-BIKE 1 is a total of 13 hours in length, distributed over the weekend as follows:

      • Friday (5:30 – 8:30 PM)
      • Saturday (10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)
      • Sunday (10:00 AM – 3:00 PM)

*Should the weather not be permitting, a rain date for the course has been set for Friday April 5 – Sunday April 7. If needed, participants will be informed of rescheduling via email.

Location: McMaster Main Campus

Registration: $20.00

Register for CAN-BIKE 1 here, under “Sports/Martial Arts”.

What to Bring:          

      • Bicycle in good working order*
      • White front light, red back light or reflector, and bell
      • Certified helmet**
      • Clothing suited to riding in weather conditions
      • Lunch or lunch money for Saturday and Sunday
      • Water bottle

*No bike? No problem.
If you are interested in participating but do not have access to a bicycle, please indicate so on the registration form and a bicycle will be provided for you.

**A certified helmet should have a sticker by CSA, ASTM, the Snell Foundation, or ANSI affixed to the inside. Other safety helmets, such as for hockey, are not acceptable, nor bicycle helmets that do not contain approved certification.

Upon completion of the course, participants will receive a CAN-BIKE certificate card.

Indoor, classroom course components:

      • Traffic dynamics: Correct road position for cyclists in a variety of traffic and road conditions--position from curb, obstructed lanes, narrow/extra wide lanes, parked cars, passing on the right, position at intersections, destination positioning, right turn only lane, left turn residential, left turn arterial, left turn only lane, railway tracks, 4-way intersection, trucks and school buses, and general principles of traffic flow
      • Equipment: Helmet fit, bike selection, types of bikes, on-road tool kit, parts of the bike, gearing, bike security, bike adjustment and fit, safety equipment required by law, basic bike inspection (ABC Quick Check)

Outdoor, on-bike course components:

      • Group riding skills: Cycling technique, group riding etiquette
      • Handling skills: Straight-line riding, shoulder checking, signaling, rock dodge, and slalom
      • Riding on residential streets:  Entering the roadway, position within the lane, parked cars, lane choice and changes, yielding and right of way, intersections, right turns, right turn only lane, residential left turns, pedestrian style left turns, crossing streetcar/railway tracks