This fall, the scouts of Troop 350 are being offered the opportunity to earn their Cycling merit badge.
In the process of fulfilling the requirements for this badge, our boys will…
· learn skills necessary to safely enjoy road-cycling.
· earn an important badge that can be applied toward their Eagle (they must earn Camping, Hiking or Cycling for Eagle).
· complete a series of significant bike trips that may noticeably improve their strength and fitness.
· be introduced to a rewarding hobby that may last a lifetime …and may even make their lifetime last longer.
This document is a summary of my instruction plan.
The requirements that involve Equipment and Road Safety must be presented before any boys take to the road. I plan to offer this instruction at 6PM on September 22, one hour before our normal troop meeting. This will be the first time this information is offered, but it will not be the last.
Starting September 29th, I will be available one hour before Troop-meeting time to sign-off cycling requirements. Instruction for these requirements will be informal and based upon what is needed by those present (i.e. Boy demonstrates fixing a flat tire). The required “road-tests” will probably be held in the upper parking lot.
The most challenging requirements (8 & 9) involve a number substantial bike outings…
· Two 10 mile trips
· Two 15 mile trip
· Two 25 mile trip
· One 50 mile trip
Although your son’s trips don’t need to be scout-sponsored events, I plan to schedule multiple opportunities for the boys to fulfill these trip requirements. These trip opportunities will be posted on the Cycling Merit Badge Schedule Page. These trips will be on local, sparsely traveled roads. I will usually schedule them in the morning when traffic is sure to be light. I will send out an e-mail a couple of days before each of these trip opportunities. Scouting rules (and common sense) dictate that I have at least one other adult involved in the trip. Trips are subject to cancelation if I cannot obtain adequate adult participation. If any other adult would like to sponsor one of these informal outings, please let me know.
We will be sponsoring an overnight trip to the Silver Comment Trail on October 25th & 26th. This is an official Troop 350 overnight event. All boys are encouraged to attend whether they are pursuing the merit badge or not. I anticipate signing off many requirements during this trip.
Most cycling merit-badge events will not show up on the Troop 350 Web Calendar. A cycling-specific event calendar is available on the web. Expect this calendar to be the source of updated information about cycling-badge events. Click here for Cycling-specific web calendar.
The list of e-mails of those interested in the cycling merit badge is maintained by Derek Drury. If you want to get on or off the list, please contact Derek Drury at dddrury@hotmail.com with subject line “subscribe” or “unsubscribe”.
I plan to track the boys’ requirement progress using a two dimensional grid. The columns of this grid will represent the requirements, and each row will represent a boy’s chosen “web alias”. This grid will be displayed on the website as well as on a wall chart at troop meetings. I hope that this public-but-anonymous posting of advancement progress will help the boys sustain the boys’ interest. If any boy (or parent of boy) does not wish to be tracked this way, just let me know.
o Owned or borrowed
o Good working order
o Multiple gears suggested
o Must fit properly
o …with means to carry it
o to record biking experiences (see requirements)
o Optional / Sharable
o Available from the scout shop on Drake Ave.
With the conspicuous exception of the overnight trip, all sponsored outings will make use of public roads. We will always have safety in mind when we choose when and where to cycle.
Some question the wisdom of taking scouts out on public roads. Others feel that the main purpose of the Cycling Merit Badge is to teach our boys how to properly and safely cycle on public roads. For more on this discussion follow this link: Why teach on the Road?