The kids are busy riding on Southern Vancouver Island as Cycling BC’s iRide in-school program runs it course through several elementary schools across the region this spring. We caught up with iRide Coordinator & Head Coach (Victoria), Adam Walker, to see how the school visits have been going so far…
We kicked off our South Island iRide season with our third annual visit to Torquay Elementary. The staff and students were, once again, incredibly welcoming and appreciative of us when we arrived on a chilly Tuesday morning. Having seen some of these kids for three years now, it was awesome to see how far their skills have come. New iRide Instructor, Lewis, was right at home, building creative obstacle courses and running the riders through the program.
Our next stop was Keating Elementary where we were greeted with sunshine and warm temperatures on our visit. The school was undergoing some seismic upgrades, so our riding area was a bit limited, but we got creative and made it all work. We coached six classes each day so we were very busy. The students and staff were such a great bunch and the riders managed to up their game, perfecting cornering, front wheel lifts, and body position over challenging obstacles.
Up next was Oaklands Elementary where the kids met us with a lot of energy! The layout of the school grounds offered a variety of terrain to ride on and the wide range of ability levels meant we had to be extra vigilant in our demonstration of the skills being taught. We did our best to adapt our programming to match the varied skills of the riders and it was nice seeing some great progression and increased confidence with the students who did iRide last year.
Finally, our visit to Lakewood Elementary was our second time to Lakewood. Just as we experienced in the first year, the kids at this school impressed us with their athletic ability. We saw many riders who are quite proficient on their bike and we also saw the kids who could not ride as well pick it up very quickly. One teacher told us a story of how, as a result of iRide coming to Lakewood last year, one family now all owns bikes and they ride together often as a family activity! The kids learned to ride at the session last year.
About iRide: Cycling BC’s iRide program is designed to inspire young riders, and connect school and youth cycling groups. As BC’s Provincial Cycling Organization, we encourage health and sport through cycling. The iRide program provides opportunities for young people to experience cycling in safe and fun programs across British Columbia.
Book iRide for your school, field trips, after-school, or summer camps.
