Over the coming weeks, the iRide program is offering 2 new opportunities for riders. Students at select schools are now able to sign up for a 3-day after-school program that immediately follows the 3 pm bell after an in-school session.
iRide Jams are also now taking place at the MEC BikeFest and the West Vancouver Community Day. These 1-day events provide communities with a chance to experience iRide and engage with parents. Our iRide program is designed to inspire local parents to develop their own iRide Advance program in their neighborhood and these events are run to illustrate how it can work.
- iRide @ North Vancouver’s MEC BikeFest: May 28th – learn more here
- iRide Jam @ West Vancouver’s Ambleside Community Day: June 4th – PRE-REGISTER here
Cycling BC’s iRide program enjoyed another successful week with 8 in-school programs and 947 students coached. iRide’s full bike fleets attended events in Vancouver and Victoria with partial fleets in Comox and Cranbrook. Events took place at Kootenay Orchard Elementary in Cranbrook, Giant’s Head in Penticton, Bonaccord in Surrey, Alex Mackenzie in Vancouver, Ecole Des Mondes in Comox, and Bench & Rogers in Victoria. iRide has now coached over 5500 students this spring and has expanded our parent newsletter database by 3000 excited families.
The best thing about Jamaican Joust is that you really can sneak up good behind your riding friends and Joust them good. Ha ha ha – Rachel, Grade 4, Sir Alex Mackenzie Elementary
The Okanagan iRide team is visited Giant’s Head Elementary for a 2nd year visit! Coach Laura Harp and Louise Blais reports:
On May 9-11th, Louise Blais, Victoria Kelsch and I returned to Giant’s Head School in Summerland to lead an 3-day iRide program for their Grade 3 and 4 students. Having run an iRide program for the same grades in 2015, it was fabulous to see some familiar faces and witness how much all the riders have improved. Many students who struggled with their bike skills last year couldn’t wait to show us their improved abilities (and new bikes that fit them 🙂 ). What a fantastic experience! Overall, we had another very successful program teaching the students how to brake safely, turn with more control and navigate the roads better with improved shoulder checks and hand signals. Of course, many fun games (including the much requested bandana pass) were thrown in as having fun is what bike riding is all about!
The Vancouver iRide team of Coach Tubbs (Wes Ochitwa), Anna Banana (Anna Bradford) and Trix (Carsinn Wilson) visited Alex Mackenzie Elementary in Vancouver and Bonaccord Elementary in Surrey: Wes reports:
Coach Anna Bradford and I had the privilege of leading an ambitious crew of Grade 4-6’s through a few action-packed days at Alex Mack. With the cooler weather, we were able to add in a few longer rides and take advantage of the school ground’s natural terrain. With the older students we had a chance to take the basic skills and increase the speed and complexity of the drills, making for some excited courses. There were a lot of different elements, providing the riders the sensation of some cyclocross, XC MTB course and the BMX and MTB stunts. The iRide school champion is a local cyclocross racer and he was quite excited to see how the school terrrain was used. Maybe there is a school bike club on the horizon now!
Anna notes:
What an amazing and rewarding week this past one was! As a 2nd year program, the riders were really excited to see us again… they remembered shark island from last year! I am really enjoying my opportunities as a coach with iRide. Each day provides a unique set of experiences and challenges and keeps me on my toes! With about one more month before school is out, I am excited to finish the year with a big charge!
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 1-604-BC-iRide.
