This guide is brought to you by the Independent Campaign for Everyone In the Country to Enjoy Being Airborne on Bicycles (Yeah!) (I.C.E.I.C.E.B.A.B.Y)

A Novice's Guide to Jumping with a Bicycle, Level One

Jumping with a bicycle is a basic skill which any bicyclist should take the opportunity to master. It can become of daily practical application and many is the time I have jumped over an SUV which is parked in the cycle lane or over an old lady who cannot decide which part of a shared use path on which to walk.

In this course we will teach you the basics of the bicycle jump. For those who are already competent at being airborne we suggest you move onto the Intermediate Guide to Jumping with a Bicycle (Being 'Rad' and 'Sick').

So without further ado, we shall now examine the bicycle jump in four distinct phases, as ably demonstrated by our very own novice, Jan Verhoeffendeplaater.

.one - the approach

There are a number of basic mistakes, with common results, that the novice makes in trying to jump on a bicycle: too slow an approach (not clearing your obstacle); too fast an approach (overshooting your obstacle); incorrect line (jumping to the side of your obstacle).

As can be seen below, Jan is almost in the centre of the ramp before what is commonly known as a 'double'. Speed can be gauged from the hair and is here estimated by the follicleometer to be around 15mph. Note that biting the bottom lip can add a couple of miles an hour to your approach speed.

This is therefore a textbook approach.