“Aw right, I remember you from last year, this bike riding thing is going to be awesome guys.”
– Leader of the pack, Grade 4 student @Morgan Elementary
As the cherry blossoms decorate school grounds across the lower mainland, Cycling BC’s iRide program has been branching out with visits to Chilliwack, Vancouver, Surrey and the Cowichan Valley. Equipped with a new fleet of Garneau Atom’s bicycles and a series of challenging stunts, our staff have now coached over 2,000 students since March. Recently visited schools include Carnarvon Elementary in Vancouver, Watson Elementary in Chilliwack, Chantrell Creek and Morgan Elementary in Surrey, Maple Bay Elementary in the Cowichan Valley. This year iRide is also offering more certification opportunities than ever before, with three events across the province in April. Join our team and help us introduce British Columbia school children to cycling with safe and fun experiences!
Coach Ben at Watson Elementary
It’s all about the bike racks. When Colby Johnson and I arrived on day 1, only 8 bicycles graced the school rack. However everything changed after day 1. On the second day, the racks were busy and students had to unlock their machine with care. The students were jazzed to listen and learn the new skills in anticipate of the end-of-session challenges and games. By the third and final day, the sunshine was out in full-force and students couldn’t even find a spot for their bicycle in the racks. What a wonderful effect! The highlight of my week Colby’s new relay challenge game. He calls it the Tower of Power and is a challenging course to a lego box; students retreive 1 peice back to the start position and the team that makes the tallest tower in five minutes wins! Love it! Thank you everyone at Watson Elementary for making our week and fun and exciting learning experiences for the all the students. Your thank-you cards were very appreciated!
Chilliwack Times Article here. Thank you Paul J. Henderson.
Coach Wes at Chantrell Creek Elementary
This week I had the chance to visit two of our 2015 schools. The students were excited to ride again and I had a chance to coach a mix of new students and 2015 alumni. The booking is what we call a vertical Monday program, which means I’ll be returning to this school for the the next two Mondays after this week. This tactic works great for avoiding school holidays and Pro-D day differences between school district. This way the same iRide coach can consistently attend all 3 days of a program and build a strong bond with the riders. This week my Grade 1-3’s tackled a stimulating asphalt obstacle course with off-bike obstacles disguised as beach-themed features; such as “Surf the Turtle” using a handful of Bosu balls. We then churned some pedals on thick fresh grass and laid down a core of fundamentals with hand signals and standing while riding.
Coach Wes at Morgan Elementary
Designed as a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday program, I spent my week at Morgan Elementary in Surrey. The quotes from my riders were priceless! I coached the Grade 4, 5, 6, and 7s and it was so fun I wish my 3rd visit was coming before summer break! The abilities at this school were so high, that we were able to turn skills into games, running through pairs riding and the most challenging tricks I could think of–what a blast!
Eric, Grade 6, Morgan Elementary tolds us, “Coach Tubbs taught us some pretty awesome tricks on how to remount your bike after dismounts and even a few tricks with dismounts, but best was the Teeter (totter)”.
Coach Maureen at Carnarvon Elementary
This was my second year coaching at Canarvon Elementary School and it is always a blast. The students are eager to learn new skills and their enthusiasm is contagious. This past week, I saw many students learn to lift their front tires off the ground or dismount their bikes while riding for the first time or discover proper cornering techniques. I heard a lot of “iRide is awesome!” and “thank you Coach Mo” this past week. I loved that one teacher brought his mountain bike on the last session and participated alongside his class. I had Mr. Chan demo the front wheel lift. You can imagine how high his wheel lifted with some awesome front wheel suspension and excellent technique. The student’s smiles and cheers are what make being an iRide coach so fun. I love giving back to the cycling community as it has given so much to me over the last five years as I embrace being a Masters Athlete.
iRide programs continue this spring into summer and a few openings are still available. iRide is also currently accepting bookings for the 2016-2017 autumn session. To learn more, please visit the iRide page here.
To become an iRide newsletter recipient and stay up-to-date on all future iRide events in your area, please go here.
If you’re a fan of Cycling BC’s iRide program, check us out on Twitter, Instagram, or Donate to support our programs in your area. To learn more about booking a future event, please contact us at iRide@cyclingbc.net or (604) BC-iRide.
