Free Learn To Ride Weekend Held

A student takes her first solo pedal strokes! 

On December 19^th and 20^th BSAFE successfully taught over 30 children to ride their bicycles.  Some of the children ages 4-11 had been riding on training wheels and were ready to use two wheels after a short lesson.  The rest had little or no bicycle riding experience because of where they lived.  Parents were surprised at how quickly their son or daughter was able to adapt to two wheels.  BSAFE instructor Chris Ghiorse was assisted by 10 members of the Rotaract Club of Tortola, Orano Andrews, Nicole Charles and many eager parents over the weekend.  

“I wanted to offer these free learn to ride lessons the weekend before Christmas to give children an opportunity to be on two wheels by the time Father Christmas arrives,” said Chris.  “The appointment system I set up really worked well and kept the number of students I was working with at one time manageable, which is why I think I had such a high success rate.”  Many parents proud of their children’s accomplishments mentioned that a bicycle and helmet was definitely on Santa’s list now they were truly riding!  

Parents watching were enthusiastic to share their own first-bicycle-ride stories.  When asked about their interest in cycling, parents mentioned having their child ride for health purposes and the joy of riding itself.  Most of the children expressed an interest in joining both the BSAFE after school lessons and the BSAFE youth racing program now that they were independently riding. 

8 year old Ciorstaidh Dennison was so excited to have learned how to ride that she asked her parents to donate her 16 inch bike to BSAFE to help other young students in the future. 

“It was an exciting two days, seeing the huge smiles on both the children and parents faces, and hearing the cheers from the sidelines when a child launched themselves and rode across the field for the first time was a magical experience” said Chris.