Get training
This page explains what governing bodies, standards bodies and road authorities publish. It is not a substitute for cycle training from a qualified instructor, for a qualified bike mechanic, or for medical advice.
United Kingdom: the National Standard and Bikeability
The National Standard for Cycle Training
The Department for Transport's National Standard for Cycle Training (June 2018) describes itself as a statement of competent cycling and of competent cycling instruction. It is built from roles, units and elements, and is aligned with the national standards behind driver and motorcycle rider training. It says it is a guide to cycling well, not something anyone must complete before they may cycle, and that it is the basis for programmes including Bikeability. It also says it is not itself the Bikeability programme, and leaves training advice and instructor-to-trainee ratios to a separate Bikeability Delivery Guide.
The Standard names six roles:
- Prepare for a journey.
- Ride with control.
- Use the road in accordance with the Highway Code.
- Ride safely and responsibly in the traffic system.
- Improve cycling.
- Deliver cycle training.
The sixth role is delivered through instructor training.
The Bikeability levels
| Level (National Standard, 2018) | Roles covered | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Level 1 | Roles 1 and 2 | Places free of motor traffic. A prerequisite for Level 2. |
| Level 2 | Roles 1 to 4 | Simple roads and junctions with mostly moderate traffic. A prerequisite for Level 3. |
| Level 3 | Roles 1 to 4 | More complex roads and junctions, often busier or faster. |
The Standard also names Bikeability Plus certificated modules, including Balance, Learn to Ride and Fix.
Who runs it, and how many take part
The Bikeability Trust describes itself as a charity that runs, develops and promotes Bikeability on behalf of Active Travel England, administered for the Department for Transport, and gives 2007 as the year the programme started. All the figures below are the Trust's own, and all are for England only.
| Period | Figure (Bikeability Trust) | Published |
|---|---|---|
| April 2023 to March 2024 | A record 560,471 children took Bikeability, 310,374 of them completing Level 2 | 22 July 2024 |
| Since the start, to July 2024 | Over 5 million children trained | 22 July 2024 |
| 2024-25 | 500,000 training places booked | 6 August 2025 |
| By the end of 2025 | Expected to reach 6 million children trained (a forecast) | 6 August 2025 |
| Since the start, to 2026 | More than 6 million children trained, per the Trust's 2026 statistics sheet, read only in a search summary (an earlier 2025 sheet gave more than 5.8 million) | 2026 |
The 2023-24 figure counts children who took part and the 2024-25 figure counts places booked, so the two are not like for like and should not be read as a fall. Bikeability is also delivered in Wales, where Bikeability Wales describes national-standards training, but the England figures are not UK totals, and we did not find figures for Wales or Scotland.
Search summaries describe British Cycling youth programmes run through clubs, but its pages could not be opened during our research, so this and the details could not be confirmed and are not given here.
Canada: CAN-BIKE
Cycling Canada says it owns the CAN-BIKE programme, which certified instructors deliver either independently or through municipal and local bodies in each province and territory. Its course list:
| CAN-BIKE course (Cycling Canada) | Who it is for, and length where given |
|---|---|
| Level 1, Fundamentals of Cycling | All ages, including people who have never ridden; 2 to 3 hours |
| Level 2, Cycling Basics, and Bike Rodeos | |
| Commuter Cycling Skills | 3 to 4 hours |
| Level 3, Core Cycling Skills | Includes children aged 9 to 14 who must ride on the road |
| Level 4, Advanced Cycling Skills | Experienced riders and adults in leadership roles |
| Level 5, Instructor Training | After Level 4; 24 hours |
How long is instructor training? Cycling Canada's course page gives 24 hours for Level 5. Another CAN-BIKE listing, read only in a search summary, gives 12 hours.
Australia: Ride Nation Schools
AusCycling describes Ride Nation Schools as a bike education programme that builds young people's riding skills and confidence, launched in 2015. On 25 November 2020 it reported 5,000 participants in Term 4 of 2020, 20 percent more than in any earlier term, across six states.
United States: League Cycling Instructors
The League of American Bicyclists, a national advocacy non-profit, certifies League Cycling Instructors (LCIs) to teach its Smart Cycling curriculum to adults and children, and to teach motorists to share the road with bicycles. Its 2025 seminar description says candidates must first pass the Smart Cycling Complete Course (formerly Traffic Skills 101) with a score of 85 percent or higher, then attend a seminar of about 24 hours, one evening and two full days, about a third of it on the bike.
We found no federal US youth cycle-training scheme comparable to Bikeability; in our research, US training was delivered by advocacy groups, cities and schools. That is the result of our search, not an official statement.
Why this page stops here
The schemes above are delivered by trained or certified instructors. This site names them and does not try to replace them. Road rules are on the road rules for cyclists page, and helmet standards on the helmet standards page.
Sources
- Department for Transport, National Standard for Cycle Training (June 2018)
- Bikeability Trust, 5 million children equipped for a happier, healthier and greener future (22 July 2024)
- Bikeability Trust, Bikeability: cycling for the nation (6 August 2025)
- Bikeability Trust, key Bikeability statistics 2025-26 (search summary)
- Bikeability Wales, national standards
- Cycling Canada, CAN-BIKE courses
- CAN-BIKE Canada, course listing (search summary)
- AusCycling, record registrations received for Ride Nation Schools in Term 4 (25 November 2020)
- League of American Bicyclists, League Cycling Instructor certification seminar description (2025)