Between 2001 and 2017, the number of children learning to ride a bike in the US dropped by 55% (Buehler, Pucher, Bauman). One way that communities in various parts of the country are pushing back on this trend is ensuring that kids have an opportunity to learn to ride in school. Attendees to this hands-on/seats-on-saddles workshop will take part in a pop-up balance bike rodeo, adopting the role of the kids in a similar event that might be offered at a school, community center, summer camp, or other community venue – and in the process learning about both the experience and the logistics of bringing such activities to life. People can choose to observe or participate directly. Participants will get fitted for a loaner helmet, with a temporary liner, get fitted for a balance bike, and get introduced to the basics of the challenge course and related road safety signage and principles. Then participants will circulate on the challenge course riding on balance bikes, in the process seeing how the course can be set up (whether as a temporary pop-up installation or a permanent facility in a public locale like a school, playground, or park), the kinds of activities involved, and how other adults and different community organizations can be engaged in the work of counteracting the statistical drop in kids learning to ride over the past 20 years – and expanding familiarity with the gateway physical activity, transportation, mental health, independence, and economic savings engine that is the bicycle.
