“iRide was such an awesome class that when Coach Tubbs said there are after-school programs for us, I knew right away what I wanted to do!” Andrea, Grade 5 @ Coquitlam River.
Now in full bloom across the province, Cycling BC’s iRide program continued another week of fun and challenging sessions for British Columbian students. iRide coaches visited James Hill Elementary in Langley, Coquitlam River Elementary in Coquitlam, Maple Bay Elementary in the Cowichan Valley and Langley Fundamental in Langley. Next week sessions begin in the Kootenays, Lynn Valley, Chilliwack and Comox. iRide is also busy training a series of new coaches in the Vancouver area and is conducting an NCCP coaching event this weekend in Squamish.
Coach Ben at James Hill Elementary
Wow, were the students at James Hill ever excited for our visit. The school grounds included a forest section, a gravel area, a large expanse of green space and a gently-sloped pavement area perfect for learning dismount/remount. The highlight of my week was working with our new fleet of Garneau bikes and seeing the quick progression among the classes. One rider of exceptional note was a grade 5 student who could rip the slickest of turns, pictured above, carving on the tarmac after a rainstorm. I was also really impressed how well the students behavied during a freak hailstorm on day 2… you should have seen how fast and how well organized they become when it was time to seek shelter! I look forward to returning to James Hill in the future.
Coach Wes at Chantrell Creek (Week 2)
Chantrell Creek was well prepared for their second visit of iRide with 3 consecutive Mondays on tap. Although most students didn’t want to wait a full week for their 2nd session, it was evident that they had been practicing all week at home and made for great improvements across the board. We tackled partner riding and re-named the various activities to what is now known as “Smashy Smashy Passy Passy” (exchanges/paceline),”Don’t Get Dropped”, “I’m Gonna Drop You” (staying together, but then attacking), and “Victory Lap” (holding a shoulder or hand). Coach Jeff Anderson also brought out his custom Trials bike and did some impressive balancing, spins, hops and mounts leaving all ages with ‘dropped-jaw’ syndrome.
Coach Wes at Coquitlam River
Over at Coquitlam River Elementary, we took to the hills and ran a 3-day program that awarded badges of Outdoors Excellence, Respect, Devotion and Creativity. This school is exceptionally organized and provided awards to the iRide participants who modeled best behavior and commitment to improvement; kudos to principal Ross Jacobson for running a fantastic learning facility and making iRide feel so accommodated. They’ve already vocalized the desire to book the next few years with us! Coach Wes Ochitwa and Jeff Anderson locked down safety signals, fundamentals in group and solo riding, some new dismount and remount tricks, and games including Volcano Surf Rider and Jamaican Joust. Word has it there’s a fearless Grade 4 girl in that pack that had coach Wes question his own cornering capabilities on compact gravel!
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.
