LCSG safecycling Clinic 8th July 2012

LCSG safecycling Clinic 8th July 2012, a set on Flickr.

A total of 80 riders came!  Even though in the early morning, showers threatened to make it difficult to ruin the event. But heavens was kind to us and the weather turned fine as the event started around 830am.  This year's  effort was led superbly by Boon Yeo and his buddies Boo, Clarence, Louis, Vince, Tiger Wan, Eddie, Diane, Steven Tang. Learning from the last year Safety Clinic, LCSG team decided to make it more interactive so that the information and knowledge can be better understood by the participants.
One added area which was introduced this year was a pre-ride check. Boon shared on the basic but important areas. Check the tyre pressure, check the brakes by pushing against them. Checking the lights have fresh batteries and also if possible to wear a helmet and have a medical kit ready.
A particular area of the memorable demo was when Vince demonstrated the negative ways. Dark tees, not paying attention to the road and wearing flip flops. It generated lots of laughter but got the message across simply. Nicely done! After the briefing, we all headed out to the various stations to learn by doing.
Station 1 was manned by Eddie Lim and Tiger Wan. They focused on proper hand signals and road positioning as a single rider and also group riding. Followed by a group demo ride to learn the hand signals which will help in the cycling group safety and coordination.
Station 2 was manned by Boo and Diane. The focus was on safety on the left/ going front junctions. Boo shared on the procedures of a proper turning, what to look out for and where to position yourself so as to avoid getting into an accidents. Diane shared her method as well which was "if u are not confident, get to the pavement and use the traffic light" This is esp. important for the folks with children as they need more time to react and no as confident on the route. Another aspect which was highlighted in the practical lesson was checking back for traffic and signaling your intention early.
Clarence, Vince and Boon Yeo manned the 3rd Station which focused on the Bus stop areas. How to react and make it safe to clear the area and continue with the journey.
After the session, we had a much needed Tea break kindly provided by Nparks and had a good time touching base and chatting on what was just taught. With the bellies filled, we proceed to be updated by Bernard Lim of Nparks on the park connector development. He shared on the challenges and future PCN in the development. Also how to better feedback issues to Nparks using the lamp post markings to describe the location. It is exciting to see more routes being planned for recreation. To make the PCN experience better, he shared ways to ride with more considerations to other park users. Many also signed up for the Npark newsletter update so that they can be keep informed on the PCN developments and events.
We ended around noon time with a expert sharing by Francis, uncle KC and George Lim. Of course, the LCSG pose too. Today event warmed my heart. I could see the team growing. Folks like Boon Yeo stepping up and making amazing effort to engage and share.  Fantastic! This is the magic of LCSG! Well done guys!