LCI Spotlight: Dan Hernandez

The League certifies hundreds of League Cycling Instructors every year and there are thousands of LCIs around the country leading bike education efforts in their communities. In our LCI spotlight series, we are sharing the stories of League Cycling Instructors doing what they do every day: educating, mentoring, empowering. You don’t have to be an extraordinary athlete or overachieving student to be a stellar LCI, all you need is the conviction that life is better for everyone when more people ride bikes. 

It’s hard not to be enthusiastic about a League Cycling Instructor who says their favorite thing about bikes are “wheelies”! Meet Dan Hernandez, our LCI in the spotlight this month. Find our earlier LCI Sportlights in our blog archives. 

Learn how to become an LCI in the Smart Cycling section of our website.

LCIs are teachers of bike joy and it’s easy to feel the joy that comes through in Dan’s responses to our questions about bike education. As an educator with Bike East Bay in California, Dan says he became motivated to get more folks adept at biking because of climate change. Read more about Dan’s thoughts on being an LCI below. 

Are there local bike groups you’re a part of locally? 

Bike East Bay

Tell us a little about yourself and why you enjoy teaching others to bike.

I think that biking is a virtuous cycle…the more I bike the happier and heathier I am. I think that’s true for communities to countries. When I bike, I see people and neighborhoods and cities closer, they see me closer, too. The barriers come down along with pollution, time wasted in vehicle traffic, the extra weight I gained from sheltering in place, fossil fuel use, highways that divide cities etc… All that happens with a smile on my face on a bike, why wouldn’t you love doing bike education?!

What has been your greatest reward in teaching bike education?

Waking everyday happy to teach bike education.

What is your best piece of advice for an LCI who wants to teach a class but isn’t sure how to get started?

It’s like a bike wheel, get it moving and the positive effects build momentum…and before you know it, you’re off and rolling.

What is something you think that all LCIs should know about teaching bike education? 

Keep it simple: have fun, make it fun, make it safe, keep learning, and remember to have fun. Someone wiser said it as… ”The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible” – Toni Cade Bambarayoue, there, yep, let’s do that!

What is your favorite memory from being on a bike?

So many really… touring the Continental Divide, beating the bus to school in 5th grade because I rode my bike, my first bike commute to work, making bike friends, working with great coworkers at Bike East Bay, to today when my favorite moments in my day are usually on my bike!

Know an LCI who should be featured next? Nominate a stellar bike educator here!