[BTC East Bay]

Youth Bike Adventures - Next Ride September 16th

Youth Bike Adventures (YBA) has been taking local under served kids in our community on rides in the East Bay Regional Parks for 15 years. Our rides are once a month on Saturday from 10am to 3 pm May through October.

We ride either at Pt. Pinole Regional Park or Wildcat Canyon/Alvarado Regional Park. At least 12 volunteers ride with 10 kids and the ride includes a big lunch together, and a ton of fun sharing with the kids and the other riders.

September 16th is our next Youth Bike Adventures ride. Details for this ride are to be announced.

Please RSVP us at kaireen2@gmail or Jeff Edmonston. Dates for the rest of the season are: September 16 and our annual Halloween Ride October 28. For more info about YBA programs contact Jeff Edmonston or call him at 510-325-2417.

Show a kid the basic techniques of mountain biking. Share a lunch, give them a helmet to take home and leave them richer for the experience of learning safe biking and the beauty of our open spaces. This is one of the most rewarding BTCEB programs of all!

Well, unfortunately I got the email from Edmo that the YBA ride tomorrow (Aug 12) had to be cancelled:

YBA Ride is cancelled!
Unfortunately, the agency we were going to ride with this month called
late this afternoon to tell us that there were no available employees
or volunteers to attend the ride and drive the van full of kids to the
park.
So the ride is off.
We haven't had this happen in quite some time, and it is sad. The
groups of kids we ride with usually do not have a lot of resources in
their programs, and events like these are usually a result of that.

I am putting myself on the calendar for the next YBA ride...hopefully I can start a trend to boost the numbers.

 

[BTC East Bay]

********Begin canned response:

Things we try to stress:
Safety
Local kids in their local parks
Trail ettiquette
Having fun

I'm a bit pressed for time at the moment, but wanted to respond to you as quickly as possible. The best way for me to answer any specific questions you might have might even be a phone call. 510.325.2417

Common questions include:

Do I have to be a BTCEB member? - No, you do not have to be a BTCEB member to volunteer with Youth Bike Adventures. However, we hope that those who repeatedly enjoy our rides will help support the club which runs Youth Bike Adventures.

How much experience do I need as a MTBer? - Our rides are approximately 11 miles long and have some hill climbing, but require very little "technical" mtb skills. Our rides are generally designed to be challenging but do-able for inexperienced pre-teen riders

How long does the event last? - Each ride generally starts around 9:45 and ends at 3pm. This includes our free lunch during the ride. We welcome volunteers who can only attend part of the ride and may have to leave early. Every extra volunteer hour helps.

Can I bring my own kids? - Unfortunately we don't allow adult volunteers to bring their own youth with them. We are usually riding with 17-25 people total for an average ride, larger rides often become difficult to manage. In addition, we strive to have one volunteer for each youth rider. It results in the safest rides. Some exceptions have been made for mature minors who are strong independent riders.

Who pays for this? Do you get paid? We rely entirely on grant money which primarily comes from Red Oak Realty's ROOF awards, as well as grants from the Grizzly Peak Cyclists. In addition, many other local bike shops and companies who have supported us over the years. We are all volunteers who run the program because we love the responses of the kids and feel that we are responding to a need of the youth in our communities.


End canned response********