The 1st edition of Bike Schools Day will take place on Friday, September 16, 2011, marking the opening of European Mobility Week. This Bike Schools Day aligns with the priorities of the 2011 edition of the European Mobility Week, which runs from September 16 to 22: the theme “walking and cycling: it’s good for your health!” was chosen by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, along with car sharing, decarbonated vehicles, digital services for ecomobility, and carpooling.
An initiative by the Club of Bicycle-Friendly Cities and Territories, the French Cycling Federation (FFC), the French Federation of Bicycle Touring (FFCT), the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB), and the Union of French Cycling Instructors (MCF), who aim to develop cycling education for children and adults.
For this first edition, local stakeholders will organize their chosen activities in the field of learning: “open house” days in bike schools, events in schools, businesses, public administrations, or social centers, and excursions with students from a bike school…
The objective is to inform and raise awareness among all audiences involved in learning to cycle and highlight the benefits of cycling, not only for leisure but especially for commuting to work and school.
Bike schools: these are often associative structures, composed of volunteers and/or employees, aimed at teaching cyclists to be autonomous in their daily bicycle commutes: to school, to work, and not just for leisure.
Bike schools are comparable to driving schools in the sense that they teach users (students, adults, seniors, women from immigrant backgrounds, people with disabilities…) how to use their means of transportation (the bicycle) and understand the traffic rules they must follow.
They are funded by association dues, fees from the “trainees” who attend the courses, and public funding (grants from local authorities, European funds…).
