Paul Becker, ScD.
Extension Professor
WVU Extension Service
West Virginia University

>>> Aira Loren Burkhart <airaloren@gmail.com> 11/5/2010 2:13 PM >>>
It seems like cycling is an activity that is always learned through a mentor.

For one thing, you have to be taught to use a bicycle. It's not intuitive and is actually equal to or slightly more difficult to learn than basic car driving. Yeah, most people are taught how to balance on a bicycle at an early age, but riding a bicycle is more complicated than that, obviously, and that early "training" is insufficient to overcome to larger confusions about handling, behavior, maintenance and safety.

So, for adult cyclists, each can probably name a single person who reintroduced them to the sport and taught them those skills....someone who was a friend, a trusted intimate and confidant with patience to teach and who can offer the implicit treat at the end, the promise that "this is something fun we will be able to do together as a way to strengthen our friendship". That friendship is what motivates people to continue to learn despite their fear.

Maybe people aren't coming to the TS101 class because that's not how these skills are taught. A friend or relative teaches you to drive a car and a friend or relative teaches you to ride a bike. Despite the existence of driver's ed, people don't actually learn to drive in driver's ed. TS101 is the cycling equivalent of driver's ed.

To reach people, we need harness the one-on-one relationships. I am thinking about Heifer international and their "passing on the gift" requirement. Once their animals begin to breed, each family must pass along a viable female to another needy family who must then also promise to pass on another female.

I propose a mentorship program for adults in which each cyclist must mentor a non-cyclist through all the steps of learning to bike. We need to formulate the "plan of seduction" from reasons to bicycle and early fun experiences to being walked through bike selection, etc. (inexperienced cyclists usually want mountain bike type bicycles, regardless of function, because that's what they had as kids and the array of bicycle styles and constructions is baffling. then they have an inappropriate bike and may not ride it! plus bikes are so expensive! peer pressure is definitely necessary.)

If the target is successfully converted, the original sponsor could ask them to teach someone else. Or the original sponsor could select a new target for conversion.

We would support this program by giving it a name and formulating the step-by-step program of marketing cycling from one person to another. Nick could rent bikes to people for initially fun-rides. Maybe we could get coupons for bicycles to help take a bit off the price when someone is on the fence --discounts for people in the mentorship program. Our TS101 should be a complement and we should market it to the people who actually want to attend it --that is: people who already bicycle.

Realistically, people bicycle because it's fun and because their friends do it (culture and peer pressure). Therefore, if people's friends don't bicycle, they won't bicycle.

So, let's harness the power of friendship! Convert your neighbor or your buddy at work or your best friend or your girlfriend! One cyclist paired to one non-cyclist.

Feedback? thoughts?

aira