Cycling Visionaries Awards - Project Details

Saint-Petersburg Bicycle School

Bicycle School is a non-commercial series of tutorials and practical rides to teach people how to ride safely in the city with practically no the bike paths. At the moments 90% of bicyclists in the city ride on the sidewalks. In our School we teach how to ride safely on the roads, making it fairer to pedestrians and more noticeable to drivers and Government.

Bicycle School is a non-commercial series of tutorials and practical rides to teach people how to ride safely in the city with practically no the bike paths.

Majority of the people in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, use bicycles only for sport activities. Some of them ride in the city, but at the moment 90% of bicyclists in the city ride on the sidewalks.

In our School we teach how to ride safely on the roads, making it fairer to pedestrians and easier and faster for cyclists. Moreover, we believe that only considerable number of cyclists on roads can make the Government start to develop bicycle infrastructure.

The lectures are announced inVk.com – most popular social network in Russia, and take place every week in the city centre; everyone with a bicycle can participate. There is one-hour lecture with a slide-show on rights and rules of bicyclists, analysis of main problems and dangerous situations, advices and tips, followed by questions and answers. We also disseminate leaflets on safety riding among the students.

Then it is a time for practice - everybody takes a bike and in a group of 10 people participates in a ride through the city. The group is leaded by lecturer and followed by instructor, who is watching the group and making recommendations on the way.

Usually, all of the students come to the lecture by the sidewalks and most of the students go home by the road.

The School has been closed for winter, but we will start the lectures and practice rides in April.