By Areiona King and Liz Harris
When families pedal together, they laugh and sweat and move together. Everyone stretches their legs, everyone breathes fresh air. Our Family Earn-a-Bike program provides access to bicycles and education for kids and adults who are looking for a way to get exercise and go places… together!
Our latest session at West Wyandotte Library over the summer was part of a new and exciting partnership with the Kansas City, Kansas library system, and is part of our focus on transportation equity. Fourteen students, including three parents, participated in the session, which included basic maintenance practice and bicycle skills training.
“The Earn-a-Bike program was 
an absolute blast! The overall experience was a delight for the kids and the parents. It was an absolute joy to see children overcome their shyness through the hands-on involvement of taking apart a bike, and how the excitement carried over into the next classes,” exclaimed Willa Collins of the West Wyandotte Library. Areiona King, our Wyandotte County Safe Routes to School Coordinator, reported that several of the students had participated in our Safe Routes to School programming and are now planning to join a Walking School Bus this fall.
BikeWalkKC advocates for facilities like bike lanes and sidewalks, and provides confidence-boosting education to create a culture of active living here in the Kansas City region. Family Earn-a-Bike brings the skills, knowledge, and access to bikes beyond the traditional after-school program. Maggie Green, Director of Programs, says, “We are excited to provide a chance for the entire family to work on and earn bikes. We love that we are giving families the opportunity to spend time together, enjoy riding, get physical activity and improve their health through riding bikes!”
We welcome community support in facilitating our educational programming. If you have a bike to donate, or if your organization would like to host a class, contact us at education@bikewalkkc.org for more information.
Our Earn-a-Bike families practice cycling skills on the bikes they earned!