iRide events rolled out in Grand Forks and Christina Lake last week with local mountain bike coach and new iRide coach Natasha Lockey. Participating schools included D.A. Perley and Hutton Elementary in Grand Forks and Christina Lake Elementary.
Natasha reports that this was a great first week for the program. The teachers had some apprehension over the timing of the program and how the logistics would work out, but the community worked well together to ensure all the kids had bikes and helmets. The teachers were over the moon with each participant’s improvement.
This program is fantastic… kids had a blast this afternoon riding down by the beach… thanks for hooking us up! photos going up on our website.
– Shawn Lockhart, Christina Lake Elementary
Good things from Hutton… I was also worried about logistics but everything seems to have ironed itself out! I know the kids are looking forward to the bike hike next week. Thank you for taking this on and bringing it to our area.
– Sheryl McIver, John A. Hutton Elementary School
Grand Forks students of D.A Perley and Hutton Elementary progressed over their opening two sessions last week to earn a short exploration along the nearby Kettle Valley Railway bicycle trail. Only one road crossing from school grounds, students were challenged by the unique terrain available on the trail. For classes that weren’t ready for such an adventure, typically the younger riders, sessions were filled with scooter races, riding in pairs and slow races after the standard stop/start, start-line riding and scan/signal drills of day one.
The finish each session, students had a go at Natasha’s obstacle course. The course included straight line riding, big turns, tight corners, limbo and wheel lifts. One of the girls commented:
“I really enjoyed the obstacle course, it was fun”
Over at Christina Lake Elementary, Natasha utilized the local beach area for the session as school ground space was limited:
The kids were awesome–after a lap of follow-the-leader, they were faced with the challenge of a steep downhill, leading into an immediate uphill slope. There were no complaints and only a few “I can’ts” that quickly vanished after students practiced working with momentum and refining body position skills. We finished up with a few laps around the park and lots of re-hydration…whew it was hot out there! With front wheel lifts and corners under our belts, next week we’ll tackle more adventure and more situational learning!
