FREE Program Puts Kids AND Grown-Ups on Two Wheels
Count more than one hundred kids and adults among Charlotte’s newest cyclists. They ditched the training wheels for good during Saturday’s Learn to Ride event at Marion Diehl Recreation Center.
Learn to Ride has minted more than 500 new bike riders of all ages this year using the “balance bike” method. Saturday’s event capped a year of five Learn to Ride events that brought the program to school parking lots and Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation facilities across town. Organizers are looking at locations now for a January event.
“The Learn to Ride program is much more than teaching folks how to ride a bicycle,” said Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Director Jim Garges. “It’s about encouraging them to believe in themselves, understand the importance of trust and embrace alternative forms of transportation.”
“Getting new people riding a bike – no matter what their age – is a life skill,” said Ben Cooley, event co-founder and owner of Bicycle Sport. “It’s never to late to learn!”
Learn to Ride is a not-for-profit, 100% volunteer series of events to grow Charlotte’s cycling community, one new cyclist at a time. Learn to Ride is made possible in partnership with Bicycle Sport, Trips for Kids’ ReCyclery – Charlotte and well-run media + marketing with support from Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation, Mecklenburg County Public Health, and Unknown Bike and Brew and Crank Mafia cycling clubs.
For more information about Learn to Ride, check out the program website at www.melissab59.sg-host.com. Or, contact Dick Winters with Mecklenburg County Public Health at 980-314-9067 or Dick.Winters@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov, or Ben Cooley at Bicycle Sport at ben@bicyclesport.com, or 704-335-0323.
Next “Learn to Ride” Event Set for November