Bike Club
Women Empowerment Ride (WERide)
STEM "Build A Bike Light Class" w/ MDC

There is an energy that radiates from the kids the moment they turn their wheels onto the trail...their pedaling increases, their smiles expand, their laughter intensifies. You can see so clearly the feeling that riding a bike gives them: freedom"
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- Emily Petersen, Americorps Volunteer '20

Bike Club and WERide are free programs designed to empower kids K-12 with the basic mechanics of a bike, and how to ride safely. They were created for underrepresented youth by the Iowa City Bike Library in partnership with the Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County, and are guided by AmeriCorps Volunteers and Bike Library staff. Upon completing Bike Club and WERide programming, each kid takes home their own bike to keep! They receive a high-vis helmet, t-shirt, lock, and backpacks with snacks and water.

STEM "Build a Bike Light Class" is facilitated by our community partner, the Multicultural Development Center of Iowa. We need diversity in STEM and this free class empowers kids to develop technical skills at a young age through the lens of the bicycle.

Zariah scoping out the grassy, hilly ride she is about to go on

Bike Library staff, McGuirk (left), and Americorps Volunteer, Emily (right), getting ready for their Popsicle Friday ride with the kids

Bernoulli practicing gear-shifting before his ride

Americorps Volunteer, Emily (right), guides Bike Club member Aisha (left), through the basics of pumping up bike tires

Americorps volunteers Anne and Emily pose with Bike Library Director, Audrey, and the rest of the Bike Club gang before an all day Girl's Ride

Andrew taking a drink break after practicing coasting with no pedals

Bike Club Summer 2020

Each summer, the Bike Library works with NCJC's summer school program to ensure kids have access to properly fitting and functional bikes and training. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the bike programming for the Summer of 2020 went slightly differently. With the mandated shutdown of after-school programs in place, Americorps volunteers recruited kids from the Broadway Neighborhood Center area to join this summer's Bike Club.

Starting in June, kids from the Broadway Neighborhood Center area met with volunteers and staff to acquaint themselves with their new bikes, learn bike anatomy, practice pedaling and signaling, and, eventually, the best part: how to go on a safe bike ride! Volunteers and staff met with one or two kids for a one-time session (follow-up's were scheduled as necessary) on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday mornings from 9 AM-12 PM. 

Friday's were reserved for an open-ended event: Popsicle Friday. During Popsicle Friday, all of the neighborhood kids who had completed their Bike Club program and received their bike were invited to go on a socially distanced group ride to a designated trail. 

Want To Get Involved?

The Bike Library is uniquely positioned to assist in youth bike initiatives. We have a sufficient number of donated children’s bicycles to contribute. However, the bicycles need minor to extensive repair. The Bike Library hosts professional repair and maintenance clinics to train volunteer mechanics who can contribute to refurbishing children’s bikes. Additionally, we cultivate the strong volunteer relationships that we need to make these programs possible. Want to help out? Donate kids bikes or contact us about volunteering.