Council boosts funding for adult bike skill classes
Christchurch City Council Newsline: 20th May 2026
With people feeling the pinch of inflated fuel prices, Christchurch City Council is funding more classes for adults to polish their bike riding skills.
Paul Odlin has been running the classes for adults for the last five years and they’re popular - the original budget for this financial year was exhausted back in March.
The council has allocated a further $15,000 to the classes to encourage more adults onto bikes.
Paul says if you haven’t been on a bike for a while, have recently bought an e-bike, or want to take your confidence and bike handling skills to a new level, then Adult Bike Skills training is for you.
“We start with the basics like how to check and fit a helmet, how to use the brakes and gears correctly then move onto more advanced skills like riding in traffic with confidence and safely navigating complex intersections.”
“It’s a cool thing to see people get more confident on a bike, it’s a great way to get around so the more people we can get on bikes, the better.”
Rachel is feeling confident on two wheels after attending Paul’s course recently.
“I moved to Christchurch from Wellington six weeks ago and noticed straight away how bike friendly the city is, so I wanted to gain more confidence on my bike so I could cycle to work.
“We started at the Hagley netball courts learning the basics then we graduated to the road and cycled in groups around the city a bit.”
Rachel says the course was fantastic and she now feels a lot safer, cycling and interacting with traffic.
“We learnt how to navigate hook turns, cycleways and how to navigate traffic, it was great.
“Taking the course boosted my confidence massively, I’m really loving cycling around, I’m so glad I did the course.
Get more information on Council funded adult bike skills workshops, including how to book a class with Paul.
Workshops are delivered in a series of three with each session building on the skills learnt from the previous.
Sessions are open to anyone aged 16 years old and over. You do need to be able to pedal unassisted to take part in these courses and bring your own bike.