After you submit your email to us we will reply within one to two days asking you for more information. Specifically we ask for the approximate starting and ending points of your commute, your work hours, and about your previous biking experience. Once we receive this information we search our Volunteer database for a volunteer who commutes in a similar direction. Once we find a suitable candidate for a your Bike Mentor we contact that candidate to confirm their availability. Once we confirm availability we introduce you, the Bike Student, to the Bike Mentor, via email.
We discuss with our volunteers ahead of time guidelines for the bike mentoring process. Specifically, we recommend that they adopt a safe and relaxed commute which avoids the nastier traffic snarls and provides a gentle introduction to bicycle commuting. We always emphasize safety over speed.
Once you and your Bike Mentor have had your first conversation the Bike Mentor designs a route to work for you based on our guidelines, their biking knowledge of the area,and any parameters they might have gleened from your first conversation.
During your first conversation, or after your Bike Mentor, you and your Mentor choose a day to try your commute to work by bike. In the morning of the day in question your Bike Mentor meets you at your home and rides with you to your work, afterward riding to their own work. Along the way they may ride behind you, observe your riding style and offer critiques and advice, and they may sometimes ride in front of you to provide an exmaple of good riding style. Having an experienced rider accompany you ensures that you will not make dangerous errors, or if you happen do so you will recognize them and work to eliminate them in the future. In the evening , when you are finished with work, your Bike Mentor joins you on your commute home by bike.
Possibly, if both you and your Mentor agree, you can repeat this process over several days to help you become better acquainted with bicycle commuting.
