Paul Odlin has been running the classes for adults for the last five years and they’re popular - the original budget for this financial year was exhausted back in March.
The council has allocated a further $15,000 to the classes to encourage more adults onto bikes.
Odlin says the training classes are for people who haven’t been on a bike for a while, have recently bought an e-bike, or want to take your confidence and bike handling skills to the next level.
“We start with the basics like how to check and fit a helmet, how to use the brakes and gears correctly then move onto more advanced skills like riding in traffic with confidence and safely navigating complex intersections.
“It’s a cool thing to see people get more confident on a bike, it’s a great way to get around so the more people we can get on bikes, the better.”
“I moved to Christchurch from Wellington six weeks ago and noticed straight away how bike friendly the city is, so I wanted to gain more confidence on my bike so I could cycle to work.
“We started at the Hagley netball courts learning the basics then we graduated to the road and cycled in groups around the city a bit.”
Rachel, who is one of Odlin's students, said the course was fantastic and she now feels a lot safer interacting with traffic on her bike.
“We learnt how to navigate hook turns, cycleways and how to navigate traffic, it was great.
“Taking the course boosted my confidence massively, I’m really loving cycling around, I’m so glad I did the course.
For more information and to book a class, go to the adult bike skills page.
Odlin's workshops are delivered in a series of three with each session building on the skills learnt from the previous. The sessions are open to anyone aged 16 and over. You need to be able to pedal unassisted to take part in these courses and bring your own bike.
