Aug 2024 League Cycling Instructor seminar in Salinas

Take advantage of these special Monterey County opportunities: (1) Smart Cycling class in Marina on July 7. Register ASAP and no later than July 5. Currently welcoming participants age 14 or older, with class size limited to six people. (2) LCI seminar in Salinas on August 2-4 (details in this post); seminar participants must be age 18 or older, and seminar is limited to sixteen people.
Deadlines for LCI seminar: Register for LCI seminar by July 12—or for early-bird discount, by July 5. To apply for a League Equity Scholarship for this LCI seminar, apply by July 8. Note: If you still need to fulfill the LCI seminar prerequisite mentioned below under “Are you qualified?” and want to attend the July 7 Smart Cycling class, register for that class ASAP, no later than July 5.

In Bicycling Monterey’s resources on riding skills, bike laws, and safety, we refer to some resources created by others. Those include the League of American Bicyclists / Bike League’s Ride Smart: Smart Cycling Videos / Montar Inteligent: Videos de Smart Cycling.

Bike League’s work also includes training and certifying League Cycling Instructors (LCIs). Prior to the August 2024 LCI seminar, there have only been two opportunities for members of the public to receive LCI training in Monterey County: one in 2016, and another, not widely publicized, in 2022.

Bicycling Monterey’s 2019 post League Cycling Instructors: Why, and Who in Monterey County emphasized the value of communities having LCIs. Having too few LCIs in our county means too few opportunities for solid on-the-bike instruction for bicycle commuters and other people who bike!

That can change—if you or other qualified individuals, age 18 or older, sign up for the next LCI seminar in Monterey County. This seminar takes place August 2-4, 2024 in the county seat, Salinas. Registration deadline is July 12, and the early-bird registration deadline (fee discounted) is July 5 at 8:59 p.m. Pacific time.

For details, and to register, refer to the Salinas seminar listing at https://bikeleague.org/calendar/august-2-august-4-in-salinas-registration-closes-7-12-24/

Are you qualified?

Among questions in the FAQs about attending an LCI seminar is “How do I know if I’m qualified to become an LCI?” League’s response includes “If you are an experienced and knowledgeable bicyclist who desires to make cycling safe and accessible for others, you are on the right track.” For full answer, plus other FAQs, see https://bikeleague.org/ridesmart/become-instructor/getting-started/. On that page, note Step 1, about the Smart Cycling Complete class that is a prerequisite for seminar registration.

Seminar prequisite

How are you going to meet that prerequisite in time to participate in the August 2-4, 2024 LCI seminar in Salinas? Thanks to Frank Henderson, a Monterey County LCI since 2005, A Smart Cycling class will be held in Marina on July 7; deadline to register is July 5. Details: https://bikemonterey.org/smart-cycling-class-july-7-in-marina.html

For any other questions about the August Salinas LCI seminar, contact Ecology Action of Santa Cruz’s local organizers for this seminar: Annalisa Carillo-Fulk acarrillo@ecoact.org, 831-515-1336; or Leann Leon, leann.leon@ecoact.org.

What is the cost?

Another common question is about the cost of the seminar, since cost prevents many people from attending. (As mentioned later in this post, that was the case with Monterey County’s LCI seminar in 2016.) As shown on the Salinas LCI seminar registration page, the current registration fee is $500-$575 https://bikeleague.org/lci-seminar-registration/?event=a3dQl0000008ant.

Cost-reduction – four tips:

(1) Save $75 by registering early. Early Bird registration discount ends July 5 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.

(2) Equity Scholarships may be available from the League. UPDATE: Scholarship applications are due July 8. Refer to details in the PDF directly below (June 26 announcement from Ecology Action).

(Although the scholarship application form, per League site, is normally to be submitted “at least eight weeks before the seminar that you would like to attend” [i.e., for the Salinas August 2-4 seminar, by June 2], because this seminar was not confirmed and announced until June 18, scholarship applications will be accepted until July 8.)

(3) The Active Transportation Support Program of Transportation Agency for Monterey County provides funding for nonprofits and schools to host LCI trainings, as stated in the most recent ATSP Guidelines, found here: Active Transportation Support Program – Transportation Agency for Monterey County (tamcmonterey.org). As for the possibility of reimbursement of an individual’s registration costs to attend an LCI seminar, TAMC’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee would first need to update the ATSP Guidelines. To inquire about the ATSP, please contact Ariadne Sambrano at TAMC: https://www.tamcmonterey.org/staff.

(4) For any other possible cost-reduction ideas— as well as for any questions, e.g., about seminar prerequisites—check with Ecology Action of Santa Cruz, the local organizer for the Salinas August 2-4 2024 seminar, by contacting Annalisa or Leann:

Annalisa Carillo-Fulk
acarrillo@ecoact.org
831-515-1336

Leann Leon
leann.leon@ecoact.org

Other dates and locations

Can’t attend in Salinas on August 2-4, 2024? The League’s 2024 LCI seminar schedule currently includes one other in California—in Santa Ana, September 6-8 https://bikeleague.org/calendar/september-6-september-8-in-santa-ana-ca-registration-closes-8-16-24/.

The League’s 2024 seminar schedule also currently includes LCI seminars in the following states: Colorado, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, and Tennessee https://bikeleague.org/ridesmart/become-instructor/seminar-schedule/.

Bike Equity

Many people successfully complete the LCI seminar prerequisite, Smart Cycling, but are unable to attend the LCI seminar due to the cost.

Even when Transportation Agency for Monterey County offered partial scholarships for the 2016 LCI training—a scholarship offered to Monterey County residents as well as to non-residents who worked in the county—the remaining cost was still prohibitive for many residents. (A scholarship recipient needed to come up with $90, which included a $50 seminar fee co-pay, plus the required Bike League membership fee of $40 [now $50]. In addition, scholarship recipients pledged their time to teach bicycle safety training within their first year of being an LCI.)

Don’t think $90 and a teaching commitment is prohibitive? Although there is much affluence in Monterey County, there is also much poverty. Check out the Monterey County demographics chart in “Salinas Valley, Salad Bowl of the Nation — Who could be hungry?”

Bike League wants League Cycling Instructors to be more representative of their communities. See “Apply for an Equity Scholarship to attend an LCI seminar” on the following page: https://bikeleague.org/ridesmart/become-instructor/. As noted in cost reduction tips earlier in this post, the deadline to apply for an Equity Scholarship from League for the Salinas Aug 2-4, 2024 LCI seminar is July 8, 2024. Other questions about League’s Equity Scholarships? Contact education@bikeleague.org.

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