Cycling Savvy Instructor Training accomplished--now for the REAL work!

Jenn and I are now listed as Cycling Savvy Instructors!

Of course, now the real work begins! We have to polish our presentation (a lot), so that the scripting is tight and effective. We have to create a tour route that has clear progressions and good teaching intersection sequences. It will take some time, and perhaps a test class or two before we "open the doors" and start really scheduling classes. Jenn and I both have some other stuff to accomplish over the next few weeks, so it's likely to be August before we are really up and running, but we'll get there.

I mentioned Day One stuff recently. Our time in the classroom that evening was enlightening. It was Sunday before I got to take my own turn presenting my module, and I was chagrined that I missed a couple of key points I normally mention when I discuss that topic. I'm calling it a reminder that I need to use my notes more effectively.

We did our road tour on Sunday, having done a "ground truth" visit to the features on Friday morning. I did reasonably well on my presentation and "chalk talk," but still learned from the experience. The plan was for me to present for one intersection, and have Jenn demonstrate that feature, then for Jenn to present for what was to be the last feature, and me demonstrate for the last feature of the day (and watch riders at a key point in that feature). Mother Nature had other plans, however. As we were riding to the next-to-last feature of the day, we got rained on. HARD. "Three inches in an hour" hard. At one point, the rain coming through my helmet washed sweat and sunscreen into my eyes, and I had to pull off the road for a while until I could see again. "We changed our route back to the starting point to avoid heavy traffic while the visibility was diminished" hard. Apparently, it happens with some regularity in central Florida--later in the summer.

Wanting to not spend our entire life savings on the trip, we took advantage of standby tickets at a better-than-retail price. While still not "cheap," they were pretty reasonable. The downside is that there was no guarantee of the planned flight having room for us, which was a factor during our return trip. We got to spend several extra hours away from home, but still found ways to make it not so bad.

Another way we saved some money was that we were invited to stay at the home of some folks in Orlando instead of using a hotel. This was REALLY cool, as our hosts live close to where the training was based, as compared to hotels either miles and miles from the focal point or very expensive (or both). We also enjoyed the company of our hosts, which is not common in a run-of-the-mill hotel.

And Jenn got to eat dinner at Ethos Vegan Kitchen, a reprise of a highlight of our February trip. Nutshell review: I'm a meat-eater, and I would eat there again if the opportunity presented itself, even if Jenn were not with me on my next visit to Orlando.

Not far from our hosts' house is 903 South Mills Market, another great place for lunch, or an afternoon snack, or perhaps breakfast.

In another post I'll talk more about Cycling Savvy, and what it means to be an instructor for that class.