Before you ever venture out on your own in a car, you first master a set of behind-the-wheel skills. You learn to stay in your lane while turning, judge time and distance while passing, and maneuver into tight parking spots. Bicyclists, however, usually never receive such training--at least, not formally. They roll onto the street as soon as they can manage to take off their training wheels.

How well can the children in your life handle themselves on two wheels? Just as important, how well can you? And what skills do you as a motorist expect of cyclists with whom you share the road? The maneuvers below are adapted from the AAA Bicycle Safety Rodeo, a program developed for schools and communities to help young cyclists develop good habits in the saddle. Check out the skills--and the real-life traffic situations in which they apply.

The Ride-Out

The Challenge: Mount your bike, coast in a straight line for at least 15 feet and scan left to right in a 180-degree arc. Can you keep your balance without pedaling, swerving or looking down?

The Real-World Application: Many crashes occur directly in front of driveways when children blindly ride into the street. This exercise emphasizes the need to look left and right during a slow take-off.

The Slow-and-Steady Coast

The Challenge: With a head start of about 15 feet, can you coast or pedal very slowly for 60 feet, staying within a three-foot-wide lane all the while? You should take 30 seconds or longer to cover 60 feet.

The Real-World Application: "As you approach an intersection with a red light or stop sign, you should be able to move slowly along the right side of the road without wobbling or swerving into the path of a car," says Frank Niland of the Club's Traffic Safety Department.

The "Look, Mom!
One Hand" Circle

The Challenge: Can you pedal clockwise in a 24-foot-diameter circle, using only your left hand to steer? Can you pedal counter-clockwise in the same circle using only your right hand to steer? You can't stop or swerve more than two feet off a perfect circle.

The Real-World Application: Signaling for a turn demands one-handed steering. New York (along with a few other states) permits cyclists to signal with either hand; this exercise not only reinforces the importance of hand signals, but also develops steering skill with either hand. That's particularly important for younger children, notes Niland, who often use either hand to point in the direction they intend to go.

The Brooklyn Dodger

The Challenge: Place six to eight tennis balls in a straight line, six to eight feet apart. With a 20-foot head start, can you pedal from one end of the line to the other, weaving in and out between the balls?

The Real-World Application: If you've ever had to dodge potholes, sewer grates, broken bottles or other road debris on a bike, you understand the point of this exercise. Obstacles that drivers might not even notice from behind the wheel of a car loom as real hazards from the saddle of a bike.

The Gauntlet

The Challenge: Place two tennis balls 6 to 8 inches apart. Place another pair 10 feet from the first, a third pair 10 feet from the second, and so on until you lay out seven pairs, creating a straight, 60-foot-long "gauntlet" of tennis balls. With a 20-foot head start, can you run the gauntlet at any speed without touching a ball?

The Real-World Application:

Inexperienced riders should navigate an 8-inch-wide gauntlet; more experienced riders can get through a 6-inch-wide one. Like the "Slow-and-Steady Coast" above, "this skill shows that you can maintain lane integrity," notes Niland. Basically, you pedal along in a very straight line without intruding into the path of a car.

The Panic Stop

The Challenge: Place a cardboard box on the pavement, and mark a chalk line 10 feet away, across your path of travel. Building up speed over 60 feet until you reach 10 to 12 mph, slam on the brakes when you reach the chalk line. Can you come to a stop without hitting the box?

The Real-World Application: Young cyclists aren't the only ones who zoom out of driveways without looking. Often grown-up drivers do it, too--directly into the path of a passing cyclist. "The bike should actually go into a skid, even on dry pavement," says Niland. Experienced cyclists will turn their wheel during the skid, stop short, and wind up pointed at a right angle to their original path of travel.

The Figure Eight

The Challenge: Can you ride in a tight, perfectly rounded figure eight at a reasonably fast speed? The circles of the eight should each measure 6 feet in diameter, and your path of travel should be no more than 18 inches wide.

The Real-World Application: City cyclists know the word "door" as a verb--and a four-letter one at that. For them, "getting doored" means colliding with a parked car's door when an oblivious driver opens it directly into their path. Dooring is no joke; it qualifies as a moving violation for the motorist (even though the vehicle is parked) and usually kills a few cyclists every year in New York City. The figure-eight exercise demands tight left-right turns in quick succession--precisely the maneuvers necessary to avoid an open car door, provided there is no vehicle trailing the cyclist.