Youth Bike Initiatives
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.
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.
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"
- Emily Petersen, Americorps Volunteer '20
Bike Safety CampBike Safety Camp is a free 4-day bike safety summer program. The Bike Library partners with Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County and IOWA Injury Prevention Research Center to offer education safety research program. Kids receive $75 compensation, helmet, t-shirt, and bike.
From 2022-2024, the Bike Library partnered with the IOWA Injury Prevention Research Center's study of Adolescent Bicycle Safety Education. The naturalistic study evaluated the effectiveness of a 12-hour bicycle safety education curriculum called Bike Club Safety Camp, based on North Carolina’s Let’s Go Biking! Curriculum. Specifically, the study looked into the effect of parent's participation and involvement in their child's safety education. The aims of the study are to see if kids who participate in Bike Club Safety Camp have improved bicycling safety behaviors, knowledge, and self-efficacy. Data is collected using the PedalPortal camera and GPS system, trip diaries, and child and parent surveys. Results will inform the Bike Library's bike safety education going forward. |
|
Women Empowerment Ride (WE Ride)
WE Ride is a girls’ summer cycling program designed to engage, inspire, and motivate young women to embrace the sport of cycling. WE Ride empowers 9- to 14-year-olds’ to build self confidence in a fun and safe manner while fostering an appreciation for the benefits cycling has to offer. Each Summer, WERide holds a youth girls cycling camp and meets periodically to develop on skills and go on adventures by bicycle. This all-girls’ cycling program introduces and guides young women towards learning a variety of skills including bike handling, mechanical skills, and teamwork.
The Iowa City Bike Library partnered with Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County to develop this Spring/Summer/Fall program in 2018. Both organizations have a long-standing commitment to the promotion of biking as a way to build confidence and care for the Earth.
The Iowa City Bike Library partnered with Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County to develop this Spring/Summer/Fall program in 2018. Both organizations have a long-standing commitment to the promotion of biking as a way to build confidence and care for the Earth.
I love biking because… |
|
WE Ride to School
Once Summer is over, volunteers facilitate WERide to School. The "Bike Bus" rides to and from Alexander and Weber Elementary once a week when school is in session. Any child with a safe bike and helmet can ride, but it is the young women of WERide who lead. This gives them the opportunity to showcase leadership skills and give the boys an opportunity to support them in this role.
OutSpoken Teens
Thursdays, 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Join us for a transformative experience every Thursday – where repairing bikes becomes a journey of skill-building, problem-solving, and exciting new adventures!
Join us for a transformative experience every Thursday – where repairing bikes becomes a journey of skill-building, problem-solving, and exciting new adventures!
- Program Focus: Repairing and riding bikes!
- Benefits:
- Equips teens with practical skills
- Fosters cognitive and problem-solving abilities
- Opens doors to new experiences
- Schedule:
- Every Thursday after school, aligned with local high schools' early release at 2:30 PM
- Teens can be in the shop from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
- Additional engagement opportunities:
- Wednesdays and Fridays: Noon - 5:00 PM
- Saturdays: 10:00 AM - 3:00 PM
Want To Get Involved?
The Bike Library is uniquely positioned to operate Youth Bike Initiatives, especially through our long-standing partnerships with United Action for Youth and Neighborhood Centers of Johnson County. There are many ways to support our programs: volunteer to wrench at a Kids' Bike Blitz, teach at a Bike Rodeo or lead a Bike Bus! Let us know that you are interested in Youth Bike Initiatives by stopping into the shop or emailing [email protected].
|
|
|