Recap of Bike Education classes in Pagedale

Trailnet offers a variety of bike education programs, ranging from half-day Bike Smart classes that familiarize participants with bike handling and safe riding practices, to multi-session Earn-2-Bikes classes. Earn-2-Bikes participants learn about bike maintenance, how to ride safely, and leave the class with a brand new bike of their own. The most recent Earn-2-Bikes class was held on Saturday mornings at the Pink House in Pagedale. The class began with eight participants, ranging in age from fifteen to fifty-four; over the course of the four sessions, many other community members stopped in, eager to see what was happening in the classes. Taught by Trailnet’s Rachel Sleeman, the class began with an introduction to the parts of a bicycle and the proper use of basic bike tools. Thanks to this session, students learned bike maintenance skills (like how to change a flat tire) and also how to communicate problems to a professional bike mechanic.

Trailnet’s bicycle education programs emphasize bike safety and encourage the use of a bike as a mode of transportation. The Pink House participants became familiar with Missouri traffic laws that apply to cyclists, and learned techniques and skills essential for riding safely on roads. The classes also covered information useful for bike commuters, and gear and clothing that help to make bike commuting easier and more comfortable. The course also covered ways to combine cycling and public transit to get around town more easily.

Students received their own multitools and patch kits and were all individually fitted with a new bicycle helmet. On the last session of the class, each participant received a new bicycle and bike lock, purchased from the Ferguson Bicycle Shop. Gerry Noll, the owner of the shop, stopped by to meet the participants, confirmed measurements to make sure that all of the bikes fit properly, and explained the free tune-ups that he provides for bikes purchased from the shop.

Mr. Curtis Lomax, one of the class participants, has been supportive of the Pink House since it opened in 2011. In talking with Pink House’s Regina Martinez, Mr. Lomax described the Earn-2-Bikes class as “Amazing…I thought we would get used bikes. But they were brand new, measured to fit.”

Trailnet thanks Beyond Housing and the Trio Foundation for support of our bike education programs, and Rebuild Foundation’s support of the Pink House. Special thanks to Rebuild Foundation’s Regina Martinez for photos.

For more information about Trailnet’s bicycle education programs and upcoming class offerings, click here.