Since 1911, hundreds of thousands of Scouts have made the most of their two-wheel adventures by earning the Cycling merit badge. Whether you just got your first bicycle or have been cycling for years, you will learn more about your bike and what it can do by working on the requirements for this badge.

Requirements

  1. Show that you know first aid for injuries or illnesses that could occur while cycling, including hypothermia, heat reactions, frostbite, dehydration, insect stings, tick bites, snakebites, blisters, and hyperventilation.
  2. Clean and adjust a bicycle. Prepare it for inspection using a bicycle safety checklist. Be sure the bicycle meets local laws.
  3. Show your bicycle to your counselor for inspection. Point out the adjustments or repairs you have made. Do the following:
    1. Show all points that need oiling regularly.
    2. Show points that should be checked regularly to make sure the bicycle is safe to ride.
    3. Show how to adjust brakes, seat level and height, and steering tube.
  4. Describe how to brake safely with foot brakes and with hand brakes.
  5. Show how to repair a flat. Use an old bicycle tire.
  6. Take a road test with your counselor and demonstrate the following:
    1. Properly mount, pedal, and brake, including emergency stops.
    2. On an urban street with light traffic, properly execute a left turn from the center of the street; also demonstrate an alternate left-turn technique used during periods of heavy traffic.
    3. Properly execute a right turn.
    4. Demonstrate appropriate actions at a right-turn-only lane when you are continuing straight.
    5. Show proper curbside and road-edge riding. Show how to ride safely along a row of parked cars.
    6. Cross railroad tracks properly.
  7. Describe your state's traffic laws for bicycles. Compare them with motorvehicle laws. Know the bicycle safety guidelines.
  8. Avoiding main highways, take two rides of 10 miles each, two rides of 15 miles each, and two rides of 25 miles each. You must make a report of the rides taken. List dates, routes traveled, and interesting things seen.*
  9. After fulfilling requirement 8, lay out on a road map a 50-mile trip. Stay away from main highways. Using your map, make this ride in eight hours.
* The bicycle must have all required safety features. It must be registered as required by your local traffic laws.

Resources

Books

  • Armstrong, Lance, with Sally Jenkins. It's Not About the Bike: My Journey Back to Life. Berkley Publishing Group, 2001.
  • Baker, Arnie. Smart Cycling: Successful Training and Racing for Riders of All Levels. Simon & Schuster Trade Paperbacks, 1997.
  • Ballantine, Richard. Richard's 21st Century Bicycle Book. Overlook Press, 2001.
  • Mountain Bike Magazine editors. Mountain Bike Magazine's Complete Guide to Mountain Biking Skills: Expert Tips on Conquering Curves, Corners, Dips, Descents, Hills, Water Hazards. Rodale Press, 1996.
  • Burke, Edmund R. The Complete Book of Long-Distance Cycling. Rodale Press, 2000.
  • Forester, John. Effective Cycling. 6th edition. MIT Press, 1992.
  • Glowacz, Dave. Urban Bikers' Tricks and Tips. Wordspace Press, 1997.
  • King, Dave, with Michael Kaminer. The Mountain Bike Experience. Henry Holt & Company, 1996.
  • Langley, Jim. Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance and Repair. Rodale Press, 1999.
  • Oliver, Peter N. Bicycling: Touring and Mountain Bike Basics. W. W. Norton & Company, 1995.
  • Pavelka, Ed. Bicycling Magazine's Complete Book of Road Cycling Skills: Your Guide to Riding Faster, Stronger, Longer, and Safer. Rodale Press, 1998.
  • ------. Bicycling Magazine's New Cyclist Handbook. Rodale Press,�2000.
  • Rafoth, Richard. Bicycling Fuel: Nutrition for Bicycle Riders. 3rd edition. Bicycle Books Inc., 1993.
  • Reeser, John, editor. Bicycling Magazine's Ultimate Ride Guide for Road and Mountain Biking. Rodale Press, 1999.
  • Zinn, Lennard. Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance. Velo Press, 1998.
  • ------. Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance. Velo Press, 2000.