We aim to advance the global standard for mountain bike instruction, driving an inclusive community that empowers our members through education, certification, service, and experience.
WHO WE ARE
The Bike Instructor Certification Program (BICP) offers professional training and certification for individuals who lead group rides or teach mountain bike skills clinics. The BICP is building on proven, successful methods nearly two decades in development, and aims to establish a global standard for mountain bike skills instructor training.
With origins dating back to 1995, our training materials are built on 20 years of coaching experience, skill development, and program building.
The BICP is demystifying the process of teaching mountain biking skills in a structured progression.
More than 600 BICP courses have been led Globally, certifying 6000+ individuals. The BICP continually develops the curriculum and training for our Instructor Trainers to maintain high-quality standards.
WHY THE BICP?
Learning to mountain bike can be difficult. Minor accidents and injuries are common in our sport. Without consistent language and standards, teaching skill development within a safe environment is challenging.
The goal of the BICP is to break down the barrier to entry by increasing access to professionally trained and certified instructors. Led by Shaums March, our team of certified Instructor Trainers will add legitimacy to the sport and remove barriers to instruction in the community.
“People think that [mountain biking] is just a matter of throwing yourself down a hill; they don’t realize how precise it is.”
Shaums March,
BICP Lead Instructor Trainer
We continually develop our certification program, facilitate an open learning environment, and build the community with our team of BICP Instructor trainers and staff. We are hard at work developing new and improved resources with tools and support to help you in your coaching endeavors.
The program continues to offer BICP Certifications globally. The BICP has several courses; check them out under the COURSES OVERVIEW menu above! All IMBA-ICP, IMIC, and CMIC certifications will be honored and will, by default, become ‘BICP’ Certifications.
The Bike Instructor Certification Program (BICP) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit public charity. Your membership dues and enrollment in our courses help fund our programs and the development of more curriculum.
You can expect a standard of excellence and commitment to building better riders for our cycling community.
If you have any questions, please reach out; we are just an email or phone call away!
– the BICP team
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Spaces are filling up for our aMTB Level 1 and 2 courses. Send your 2024 course request in.
#BICP #CERTIFIED #COMMUNITY # LEADERS #LEVELUP
Ethan Krueger – Athlete and Instructor at Kootenay Adaptive
Going through the level 1 course gave me the tools to confidently articulate what I’ve learned as an adaptive mountain bike rider in a way that is understood by someone who may not have the experience I have. This in turn helped me sharpen the fundamentals of my own riding and provided me with a much more solid base to instruct from. The Level 2 course allowed me to work on the much-needed progressions of adaptive mountain biking, learning how to instruct in a way that promotes progression and takes riders to new levels of riding in a way that keeps them motivated and their stoke level high!
BICP believes in riders teaching riders, which means adaptive riders teaching adaptive riders. I’m very grateful that BCIP has provided me the opportunity to instruct and promote adaptive mountain to the countless people who are looking for entries into the sport.
Jamie McCulloch – ED of Rocky Mountain Adaptive
“The BICP Adaptive Mountain Bike certifications have been of incredible value to our Adaptive Sport organization. The professional certification not only brings increased credibility to our programs but has elevated our staff and volunteers who have participated in the course with increased knowledge, skills, and confidence in being able to teach and lead our lessons. One highlight of the courses being fully inclusive for riders with lived experience of disability is that it has provided a professional development pathway for advanced adaptive riders to pursue a coaching and instructor pathway, gain employment, and make sure there is representation from the adaptive community in contributing to and leading the evolution of the sport. I would very much recommend this course to all organizations that offer or are looking to offer Adaptive Mountain bike programs.”
Sierra Roth – Coach at Kootenay Adaptive Sport Association / FLOW Retreats
The BICP course, both level 1 and 2, has allowed me to confidently lead many women getting into adaptive mountain biking for the first time. The amount of detail and practice we go through has me thoroughly prepared for anything that may come up as an adapted mountain bike instructor. I even improved my own riding skills, something I didn’t imagine doing at the beginning. There is always something new for someone to learn and this course is the best for
mountain biking instruction!
Cullen Robinson – Program Manager for New England Disabled Sports
“As a program coordinator, as well as an instructor I was really happy with the package the @icp.bike brought to the table. From an organizational standpoint, scheduling was extremely easy and our ideologies matched up! Working with Nicole and Mike has been an absolute pleasure. A phone call and a few emails were all that it took for New England Disabled Sports to host TWO level 1 aMTB certification courses over 5 days. The fact that @icp.bike is a non-profit is another reason why we picked them over other certifying bodies. Whenever we had a phone conversation with the @icp.bike team you could tell that their only goal was to make sure that high-quality recreational instruction was available for everyone. From an instructor standpoint, this course was invaluable for me and has allowed me to teach a safer mountain bike lesson, as a one-on-one instructor, or lead a group ride. The keywords
learned, in the course associated with each skill give you a solid ground to stand on for a SAFE progression.”
Mary Elges – Level 1 Instructor
“I had a really great experience with the BICP certification last weekend at Killington. I had been previously certified by PMBIA, and I found the BICP certification way more detailed in its process of teaching mountain biking instruction to a potential coach. I walked away feeling confident that I knew the materials and, even better, I could teach them”.
Tony was an excellent instructor who kept that class moving and interesting. He taught the concepts very well and aided us in our practice teaches, so we thoroughly understood them, and this helped every understand what was expected of us in the exam.
If the level 2 certification is held at Killington in the spring or summer, I will be attending. I have been a Junior Olympics gymnastics coach for over 18 years coaching athletes to the college level, and I have raced pro in three cycling disciplines, and I really enjoyed the whole process of this certification. in addition, Thank you for all your help.
-Cheers, sincerely, Mary Elges
Conner Sturgeon – Level 2 Instructor
“I wanted to say thank you for working to provide such a fantastic experience with the certification program. I had an absolute blast this weekend, and the content was terrific. Travis was spectacular, and Kate always is!”
Jonas Hecht – Level 1 Instructor
July 2022
“I was quite new to the topic of coaching people about mountain biking skills – as opposed to many other attendees, who had much more experience already. Gladly my BICP instructors Roxy and Berni reassured me that this course is also for starters in coaching – and they were able to explain and show(!) everything we need as a coach throughout the course”.
“The BICP focus on getting the participants into practical training as soon as possible and as much as possible is something really outstanding. Also, Roxy and Berni did a great job from my point of view to really get all participants going with the BICP way of giving skills classes – yet always keeping an eye on the high standards everybody needs to pass the exam day”.
“Level 1 is really packed with so many things and skills to know – it was quite hard to get my head around every single topic in only 3 days. I really have the feeling that the BICP Level 1 could really profit in many ways from some more days (maybe 5 or so – or even split the course into 2 separate dates?). After the course, I had the chance to talk to many coaches and guides in Germany and Austria this year and the bottom line was mostly, that many not knowing the BICP thought the program was quite “smallish” compared to other local courses (like DIMB, etc.) – but as I told them, how many topics we went through in just 3 days they were really surprised. I think it’s even the other way around: the BICP provides a much more detailed program on mountain biking technique, and this should also reflect in the time you need to invest (even to the outside world – like other coaches)”.
All in all, I would and will always recommend the BICP courses along with the kind of teaching I will try to apply in my own courses. It’s a fantastic chance to be able to attend the program right here in Germany and it’s a pleasure to see how inspiring Roxy and Berni represent the program. I really need to order my BICP swag soon 🙂
Jonelle Tucker, Broker Owner, MS, CNE
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for organizing this course at Valmont Bike Park this past weekend for us. The mission of this program, the information provided, the communication with you and your office, and especially the dedication, enthusiasm, and knowledge of our instructor Lisa Sher were exceptional.
I’m not a big social media person but would recommend this program to anyone and I look forward to future courses. Thanks again for making something special happen during times that seem just a bit challenging for so many.
Take care of yourself.
Jonelle
Amanda Wais, President of Copper Harbor Vitality, LLC
I coached at my first clinic since taking the BICP level 2 class this May, and my teaching has drastically improved. My key words are on point and my assessments are spot on and very effective. All my students loved me and progressed quickly. So thank you for keeping this great program growing, so more people can learn to be great riders!
Amanda Wais, President
Copper Harbor Vitality, LLC, A Fresh Air Inspired Life
Copper Harbor Vitality, LLC, A Fresh Air Inspired Life
and
The Brady P. Project, Promoting Love, Acceptance and Mother Nature
Rafaella W. “Roxy”, Owner and Founder of Roxybike.com
I flew all the way to the USA 🇺🇸 to complete the BICP Level 3 – Advanced Skill Instructor Certification (which is the highest qualification for MTB coaches *worldwide*, with less than 25 coaches who have ever successfully completed this certification). Although I had already taken part in many level 1-3 certifications in Europe, this course gave me an incredible insight into the finer nuances of advanced riding skills (such as manuals, jumping, nose manual turns, drops and fast cornering). I was so happy to have an extremely experienced and open-minded group and a great instructor – Shaums March – we all had great discussions, have been able to aid each other to make remarkable progress. (more…)