An Aldergrove family is bringing a new youth cycling program to Aldergrove this month.
For intermediate mountain bike riders aged six to ten years old, wanting to master various skills and abilities on two-wheels, Aldergrove’s PEDAL Adventures and Cycling BC’s iRide Sprockids has the program for you.
Program leader, Warren England is excited about bringing a skill-based youth cycling program to the area. Warren and his wife, Linda, and their friend Jackie Robson, will be leading the new program that starts Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Aldergrove Bike Park.
“I believe that young people thrive when they are valued, feel a sense of belonging, and value themselves,” said Warren.
“Being involved in community programs create opportunities for daily physical activity and promotes healthy lifestyle choices — strengthening the emotional and physical health of children by giving them the skills to lead active and healthy lifestyles, using the fun and practical skills of riding a bike.”
Cycling BC’s iRide provincial manager, Ben Chaddock, is also looking forward to the new program in Aldergrove.
“The Township of Langley has a rich history of supporting various cycling events and with the help of Warren, I am happy to support a new youth cycling opportunity in the area,” said Chaddock.
“Warren has been a recipient of an iRide Development Grant and will receive training and support to get his program started. Our extra-curricular community programs are designed to make it easy for leaders and new riders to get involved in cycling and provide autonomy in branding to support the eventual development of new youth clubs. Therefore, I am happy to announce PEDAL Adventures presented by Cycling BC’s iRide Sprockids program, is coming to Aldergrove for six weeks this autumn.”
As a local leader for Scouts Canada, Warren wished to encapsulate his goals into his program name.
“I decided to call the program PEDAL Adventures as I believe, in alignment with Scouts Canada and cycling’s National Coaching Certification Program, that youth programs should create fun and safe learning environments for our community’s children that encapsulate 1) Physical fitness, 2) Environmental stewardship, 3) Discovery, 4) Adventure and 5) Leadership — PEDAL, in short.”
Cycling BC’s iRide Sprockids leaders are trained under the Coaches Association of Canada’s NCCP coach program, provided by Cycling BC, including the skill-games used at iRide’s in-school program.
Warren said that in addition to teaching mountain bike riding skills, the program also teaches repair, maintenance and safety skills, and he is also aiming for at least two outings for the class.
He is also aiming to establish a mountain bike club for adults and youths that would go on rides together. And he hopes to expand the program to include scooters and road bikes.
Warren and Linda have three children of their own, and Warren wants to enlist “peer coaches, age 14 and up, as I believe in giving kids a role. I also want to get more adult volunteers on board, like our friend Jackie Robson, who has seven children of her own and is keen to help create healthy activities for children here.”
Ware said he was inspired by the Aldergrove Bike Jam earlier this summer, where he met Heath MacKenzie of Cranky’s Bike Shop, who encouraged Warren to follow through on the iRide bike program.
The program costs $60 ($10 per session) and will run every Thursday evening, 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. from September 20 to October 25 at Aldergrove Bike Park.
To learn more about this program and to register for the upcoming sessions, please visit cyclingbc.net/iride-sprockids/.
