Summer Ride Club Kick-Off

By: Natalie Stephenson, Director of Programs, GreenUP

This week in Peterborough, GreenUP’s Summer Ride Club is set to get rolling!

Join us for the Summer Ride Club Kick-Off, a drop-in cycling celebration at Quaker Foods City Square on June 29th from 2pm to 6pm.

Everyone is invited to join us at the Kick-Off. Come ride the bike playgrounds, get tips on bike maintenance and helmet fitting, and get ready to join Summer Ride Club!

Summer Ride Club is a new, self-directed club, where participants embark on nine unique club challenges throughout the summer. Families and kids are invited to complete a new challenge each week of summer, explore new places and document their experiences in the Ride Club passport.

The Summer Ride Club passport features destination ideas, bike safety tips, and space to record your biking journey like a journal. The challenges are designed to be inclusive, allowing people of all ages and skill levels to participate. From pedaling to playgrounds, biking to a beach, or biking to a buddy, each challenge also features a safety tip or information essential to a successful ride.

Club participants can complete their Summer Ride Club rides in any order and at their own pace. There are options for everyone to ride, whether cruising through familiar neighbourhood spaces or pedaling to new places.

Cycling this summer is not only fun, but healthy too.

Only 39% of children and youth meet the recommended guidelines to complete 60 minutes of physical activity per day, according to the 2017 Canadian Health Measures Survey. Summer Ride Club will encourage children and youth to have fun while reaching their activity goals this summer!

10-year-old Denver, young bike advocate, gives his public appraisal for the program. “This is a great idea to get kids back on their bikes,” he says.

Summer Ride Club emphasizes the importance of route planning. This program and the passport itself highlight locations with dedicated bikeways and separated multi-use trails in the city. Planning with a trusted adult or biking buddy to select the safest route is encouraged and helps support young riders to develop spatial orientation, gain confidence, and become safer, more competent cyclists.

Tegan Moss, Executive Director of GreenUP and previous Executive Director at B!KE: The Community Bike Shop, encourages young riders to take advantage of this free resource to gain agency on the roads.

“Not only will Summer Ride Club teach independence, but it will also provide a healthy reason for young people to explore their community,” she says. “We look forward to seeing more kids using the sidewalks, trails, and cycling facilities.”

Summer Ride Club introduces Peterborough kids to the many places to explore in the Peterborough area this summer. Participants are invited to use maps that specifically highlight cycling infrastructure or to select the “biking” layer on Google Maps.

Kids and families may particularly enjoy cycling to the Library via the new Bethune street bike boulevard, or head to Rogers Cove on a section of the Trans-Canada Trail.

For older kids who might be working toward independence, some additional “hard mode” rides are included in the passport. For these challenges, a suggested route on Strava (an app that allows riders to track and share their trips), is mapped out.

To join the club, younger participants need assistance from an adult.  Together kids and their adults can register their passport, unlock weekly newsletters, prize draws, and an invitation to the end-of-summer celebration.

Thursday, June 29^th, the day of the Kick-Off, is the first official day of summer break for all KPR & PVNCC students! GreenUP is encouraging school-age kids and their trusted adults to come out for an afternoon of fun and activity to mark the start of summer. The Kick-Off will feature bike safety check-ups with B!KE, DIY bike button making with the Peterborough Public Library’s book bike, space activation from Peterborough Recreation, and the Peterborough Cycling Club’s new portable bike park features!

The Summer Ride Club Kick-Off event is proud to be part of the nation-wide ParticipACTION Community Challenge throughout June and is funded in part by the Government of Canada.

GreenUP is also excited to have the support of Hydro One’s Energizing Life Community Fund.

“As a proud member of the Peterborough community, Hydro One is committed to supporting local organizations that are working tirelessly to build a better and brighter future,” said Teri French, Executive Vice President, Operations and Customer Experience, Hydro One.

“We’re incredibly proud to support GreenUP’s Summer Ride Club which encourages the youth of the community to keep themselves active and healthy while exploring their city.”Join the club, explore the city, and make lasting memories on two wheels. GreenUP’s web resource (https://greenup.on.ca/summer-ride-club) has more details on how to join and RSVP for the kick-off event.