Het Fietscollege – Meer dan fietsen alleen

Het Fietscollege
More than just cycling…!
Het Fietscollege
Safe through traffic…!
Het Fietscollege
For everyone who wants to cycle…!

About us

Het Amsterdams Fietscollege

This is being managed by Ruud van Es.

I was trained by the Dutch Cycle Union to become a professional bike instructor.

It is my passion to teach people to ride a bike. No greater satisfaction than when people discover that they actually ride. One of my first clients was a very British gentleman of 59 who never even touched a bike. He worked in Amsterdam and he gave him self a present, “learning to ride a bike”. After classes with me he said. Now I ride with the arrogance of a true Amsterdammer”. That is the spririt!

My wife and I are “world cyclists”. We travelled through Asian and all European countries. On our bikes with a little tent. Beside that I love to ride on my racing bike.

My other passion is to teach people how to skate. In the winter I work for the Amsterdam Ice Skate school, where I teach people how to skate and how to improve their technique.

More then 32 years I worked in HR and there I learned how to teach people.

Ruud van Es (Amsterdam)
ruud@hetfietscollege.nl
KvK. 34314546

Het Haags Fietscollege

This is managed by Marja Popper.

I am an experienced teacher and I am trained personally bythe Dutch Cyclists’ Union to provide bike tuition for adults and children. I have worked over 20 years in companies as trainer for adults to obtain competences. Besides safety and biking competences I pay a lot of attention to well being on the bicycle.

I can advise you how to adjust your bike to your posture in an ergonomically optimal way. If necessary I will work with you on overcoming fear and increase your self confidence. In my lessons I can use my creativity and by doing so every lesson is tailor made. Bike tuition is very pleasant and grateful work.

Especially if you remember my lessons with pleasure!

Marja Popper (Den Haag)
marja@hetfietscollege.nl
KvK. 27296727

Het Fietscollege for who?

For amateurs and the more andvanced

Children

Your child doesn’t ride a bike at all, or has support wheels at the bike and hasn’t the courage to ride without those. Or your child can ride a bike but hasn’t the courage the ride on his own. Or child will soon go to high school and wants to get there by bike, but you’re not sure if he rides safely. Just some examples of situations with children.

We can teach your child to ride without support wheels. Important is to build up self-confidence. This however goes surprisingly quickly, because children are curious and actually always want to learn new things.

Beginners

If you cannot ride we first teach you the basic skills. We teach you, amongst other things, balance, holding the handlebar in a relaxed mode, looking behind over you shoulder, signaling by stretching the arm. Of course as well as keeping your balance, getting started in a straight line, making an emergency stop. You follow your own learning pace.

Advanced cyclists

You can ride the bike and you feel confident on it. But you don’t feel confident in the traffic in the chaos that cyclists create. We will help you building up your self-confidence. We ride with you in town. W start in quiet streets and bit by bit we will ride in more busy streets. You will learn the (un) written rules of bike riding and we teach you how to deal with obstacles like a tram tracks and short but (very) steep slopes at bridges.

You are very welcome when you want:

Just a refreshment of your feeling of riding in town. For, let’s say an hour.

You want an update of your knowledge of the traffic rules

You wonder is you are still that skillful bike rider as you thought you were.

You want to find another route for daily commuting, or to the sports club.

You want to practice in the dark, or with bad weather

You want to learn on the road repairs, like a flat tire, broken chain, adjusting your gears. (We do this only in Amsterdam)

Senior people, people with a limitation, people with a fear for cycling and schools.

Senioren

Many seniors still want to ride on their bike. Some lost (partly) their ability, other lost (partly) their courage. We help you to deal with the limitations you feel.

When you want to start riding on an E bike

We help you choosing an e bike and we learn you how to ride safely on it.

People with cycling anxiety

Cycling anxiety can arise from various causes. Due to a fall or other accident, due to a physical disability and what not. By cycling with people in an adapted way, self-confidence grows, so that people dare to trust their own judgment again.

Children and adults who have the syndrome of Down

People with the syndrome of Down vary very much in their skills and abilities. Based on the individual skills we develop a training scheme to help them riding under surveillance of an experienced cyclist. Or, if possible, to ride on their own. If necessary we help them riding on a bike with three wheels.

Children and adults with autism.

These people very often find it difficult to interact with the other participants in the traffic. Ans often they have small physical limitations, like looking behind or signaling. We teach them how to interpret the behavior of other traffic participants and we tach them how to overcome the physical hinderance.

Primary schools

We provide programs for primary schools. Based on the demands of the school. This could be to teach the children the basic skills, or teach them how to ride in the traffic. Or when a class wants to go on a bike holiday, how to ride in a group and what should the teachers do. Safety check of the bikes. Or practicing for the Traffic exam.

What’s possible?

Safety check of the bicycles
Practicing cycling skills with attention to every level
Practicing cycling skills with the help of a course
Film “Mr Willems learns to cycle” about smart and smart behavior in traffic
Refreshing traffic rules
The game “Traffic and me” Cycling under supervision in the immediate environment of the school where the dangerous situations receive extra attention
Practicing the route of the Traffic Exam
Cycling skills course

And also for

Expats

Do you want to learn to ride like the Dutch do? Or can you ride, but are scared of the unstructured (chaos) going together of pedestrians, cars, cycles, scooters, trams , busses.

We developed a program for beginners and advanced cyclists but also a family program. We look at the skill level of each of the members of the family and we adjust our instructions conformally.

Moreover we look at your daily rides and we map and photograph at the “difficult “spots, discuss these with you before going on the road.

Daily routes are for example commuting, shopping, visiting sport activities and so on.

People with physical limitations

Do you need to be 100% fit to ride on a bike? Do you feel insecure because of a limitation? Would it be a sensible thing to do, bike riding? We discuss with you your situation and we will advise you how to get (re) started on the bike

Other possibilities:

Increasing cycling skills
Safety check of the bicycles
Update traffic rules
Check up traffic
Insight on trail riding
Attention to employees with disabilities
Workshop bicycle maintenance and minor repairs
Increasing self-confidence in traffic
Special program for expat families
Private lessons
Bicycle clinic for all employees
Both group and individual classes.
Parents and nannies learn to ride a cargo bike, both the two-wheel and the three-wheel one.

Each program is made for increasing safe and enjoyable cycling.

Our method

How do we work?

Our basic program for all pupils consist of four phases:

We teach you to keep your balance.
Learning the basic skills Getting started in a straight line, looking behind over the shoulders, signaling, making an emergency stop.
Learning to ride in the traffic, using all skills.
Being able to check a bike on safety and suitability.

For phases 1 and 2 we look for a quiet place ( schoolyard, square, wide pavement, quiet street and so on). For phase 3 we start in very quiet streets and bit by bit we start riding in more busy streets. We will ride left / behind you. In this way we can observe you and we keep the traffic from behind away. Bit by bit the distance between you and us will get bigger. During these rides we tell you all necessary information about the (un) written rules.

During these rides we wear yellow vests.

Instructions for purchasing a bike

Tips for purchasing a bike

First determine the right size of the frame. How do you do that?
Spread your feet 15 cm. Measure the inside length of your leg from the floor till your groin. Multiply this result by 0,68. For example 85 cm *0,68= 57,8 cm. Is 57 or 58. Both are OK.

People smaller than 160 cm. also have to look at the size of the wheels. Standard is 28 inch. Small people should look at 26 or even 24 inch.

A good bike is a safe bike and a safe bike is a good bike!

Handles should be fixed at the handle bar. No slippery handles
Brake lever must run smoothly. If the grip is too wide they can be adjusted
Pedals should not be slippery
A bike must have white headlight, red rear light, reflection on the wheels, reflection at the rear, reflection on the pedals
Wheels should be straight. No swing in the wheel
No spokes missing, no loose spokes
Tires must have profile
Chain must not be rusty
A bike must have a bell at the handle bar
When you cycle no “ strange”, unexplainable noises must be noticeable
How to keep your bike: a lock in the back wheel and a high quality steel chain through the front wheel, the frame and then attached to a pole or fence.
Brakes of course must function very well. In Holland we have handbrakes and “push back brakes”. These require some practicing by the cyclist
One gear is enough in flat Holland. Don’t pay for many gears.

Contact

Do you have questions?

For the cycling lecture, don’t hesitate to ask them, you can email us.

Marja Popper (lessons in Den Haag)

marja@hetfietscollege.nl

Ruud van Es (lessons in Amsterdam)

ruud@hetfietscollege.nl