St. George Bicycle Collective holds first Ride Ready workshop
Twelve kids receive and learn about bikes
By Judith Rognli
The St. George Bicycle Collective launched its “Ride Ready!” after-school bike mechanics and safety workshop at Coral Cliffs Elementary Feb. 26.
Twelve fourth graders were pre-selected by the principal, Amy Wilcox, based on their need for a bicycle and their families’ abilities to afford bikes themselves.
“All these kids deserve a little bit of sunshine in their lives,” said Wilcox.
The kids learned basic bike maintenance and safety from volunteers and a staff mechanic from the St. George Bicycle Collective. After completion of the two-hour workshop, they each received a free bike from the St. George Bicycle Collective and helmets from the Southwest Utah Public Health Department.
The workshop is not only about riding bikes safely. Working with our volunteers to learn basic bike maintenance skills gives these kids a sense of what it is like to work with tools. They interact with professionals of different ages from the community. They learn life skills by working together and interacting with each other outside the classroom. They gain confidence and independence — now that they understand that a flat tire does not mean the end of the bike, they might even be able to fix the flat themselves. And they earn a stake in the bike that they are taking home.
“Especially the girls in my group were very attentive and eager to learn,” said Chris Haag, one of the four volunteers who helped teaching the class. “They might have not been exposed to this kind of thing otherwise.”
“While the kids won’t retain every detail of what we taught them about bikes today, we planted a seed,” said Harrison Shotzbarger, operations manager. “And all the kids left the school riding a bike and wearing their new helmets today. That is a lot.”
The workshop is put forth by the St. George Bicycle Collective and sponsored by Healthy Dixie Council and partnering agencies which include Intermountain Health Care, the Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance, the Southwest Utah Public Health Department, and the City of St. George Leisure Services.
The Bicycle Collective is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and self-help bike shop. The mission of the Bicycle Collective is to promote cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation, recreation, and as a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to the community, focusing on children and lower-income households.
Healthy Dixie Council is a group of citizens involved in government, business, and education who are committed to improving the overall health of Washington County residents. The council focuses on community and government outreach and education with the goal of improving the overall health of the citizens of Washington County. The council encourage healthy lifestyles through education, outreach, and the distribution of grants for community-based programs and events.
The Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance strives to promote the infrastructure, policies, attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge necessary to make bicycling safe, convenient, and inviting for residents of and visitors to southern Utah. The Southern Utah Bicycle Alliance endeavors to help local communities reap the economic, health, and transportation benefits of increased bicycling
Judith Rognli is the director of the St. George Bicycle Collective.
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