Riding her bicycle growing up felt like freedom to Peterborough elementary school teacher Jennifer B.
It’s a feeling she didn’t waste time introducing to her two kids.
Despite their young years, Laura, 8, and Adam, 6, have already pedalled alongside their mother to destinations like the Peterborough Public Library, GreenUP Ecology Park, and Lock 19 on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
A recent excursion to the Miskin Law Community Centre branch of the library was a highlight for Adam, who proudly explains that he rode five kilometres that day. When asked what he likes about biking, he replies, “That it’s exercise!”
This is the third summer Jennifer and her children have participated in GreenUP’s Summer Ride Club, a free club which invites kids and families to complete nine weekly ride challenges — such as biking to a playground, a beach, or across a bridge — on their own time and record their adventures in a Summer Ride Club passport.
The ride challenges can make an ordinary outing, like a library run, something her kids can get excited about, says Jennifer.
“We can pack a snack and stay there and make it more of an adventure than just a quick errand.”
In a world built around cars, people under 16 have limited transportation options, often unable to get to sports practice or an after-school job unless an adult is available to drive them. Summer Ride Club encourages kids to explore one way to get around that’s more accessible to them: bicycles.
As a bonus, participants who submit their completed passport to GreenUP by September 3 have the chance to win a $500 gift card to a local bike shop.
The club is a hit with many kids, as are other GreenUP cycling programs like Urban Bike Adventures Camp. Beyond the sheer fun of cycling, part of the draw is that many kids want to be able to travel around their communities without being stuck in the back seat of a car.
Ellie, 11, says she likes the independence of being able to hop on her bike and head to the convenience store, or sit by the river near her home.
“I’d be kind of sad if I couldn’t bike for a bit because I just wouldn’t be able to go places as quickly. I’d need to ask my parents to take me,” she says.
Ellie, who spent a week this summer exploring Peterborough by bike with GreenUP’s Urban Bike Adventures Camp, says “I’m more comfortable doing hand signals now,” after previously being scared she’d fall off her bike.
Frank, who has three summers at Urban Bike Adventures Camp under his belt, says he, too, would be disappointed if he couldn’t bike to the Bonnerworth Park pump track or his friends’ houses.
“It would stop a lot of things I do,” he says.
Two-time Urban Bike Adventures camper Nathan says if he couldn’t pedal to school with his big sister, he would “feel sad and think of bike riding.”
Freya says she and her fellow campers enjoy bike riding because “you can get exercise, you don’t pollute, and it’s a lot of fun.” She once had to hang up her bike helmet for weeks while nursing a broken arm and says it was tough seeing her older brother bike to the park without her.
For years, GreenUP has advocated for improved cycling infrastructure in Peterborough, not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but to give people — including kids — more transportation options.
Infrastructure that separates bicycles from cars, such as multi-use trails and curb-separated bike lanes, can allow kids to use the power of their own bodies to get where they need to go while building confidence and independence along the way.
GreenUP’s bike playground offers another way for kids to increase their comfort and competency on a bike. During Peterborough’s August 8th Second Saturday Sidewalk Sale, the playground will be set up on the corner of Charlotte and George streets from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with qualified cycling instructors on hand to teach cycling skills through fun drills and games.
After such events, GreenUP staff often hear kids pleading with their parents to let them bike home. Improved cycling infrastructure and cycling education opportunities would allow Peterborough parents to feel comfortable saying yes to those requests more often, knowing their kids can enjoy the freedom of getting most places on two wheels safely.
Summer Ride Club passports are available at the GreenUP office, B!KE: The Peterborough Community Bike Shop, and GreenUP Ecology Park. Learn more and sign up for the Summer Ride Club at greenup.on.ca/summer-ride-club.
Keep an eye on GreenUP’s website at greenup.on.ca/camp-programs/ for registration details for next summer’s Urban Bike Adventures camp.
