Kids learn to ride at iCan Bike Camp | News, Sports, Jobs
Jen Brodal/DND Four iCan Bike Camp graduates presented their certificates of achievement on Friday. They are wearing medals they earned at camp.
Kids ages 8 and up learned to ride bikes independently at the iCan Bike Camp held at the Minot Family YMCA last week.
Rachael Buss, Director of the Annie’s House Adapted Recreation Program at Bottineau Winter Park, led the ninth summer of the camp. In previous years it has been held in Dickinson, Fargo and Grand Forks.
The adapted recreation program is part of the Anne Carlsen Centre. This year, the iCan Bike Camp was co-hosted by Prairie Grit Adaptive Sports.
“Anne Carlsen’s mission is to make the world a more inclusive place, where independence is a gift for all, and Prairie Grit’s is with the courage that anything is possible, so combined we make a perfect partnership.” Buss said.
The bikers started on June 20 with daily 75-minute sessions. Camp participants started with a rolling pin-shaped tire on the back of the bike with the help of a volunteer and progressed to traditional training wheels mid-week. At the end of the week, they graduated to riding without any assistance.
An iCan Shine technical team from Philadelphia provided bikes earlier in the week along with the training tools, a technical advisor and a supervisor, Buss said.
The last days of the camp, the riders rode their own bikes and learned the parts of their bikes, and experienced training and practicing on their personal bikes.
“We have always had a success rate of over 80%, in all the camps we have organised. I’ve been doing this for nine years and it’s magic. Buss said.
On June 24, the cyclists moved from a gymnasium inside the YMCA to the YMCA parking lot, where each of the five sessions of cyclists practiced their new skills with their personal bikes on the sidewalk. During the closing sessions that day, the children had a graduation ceremony consisting of running through the volunteer tunnel and receiving a medal and certificate. Buss said the camp went very well and was a success, with all graduates of this session learning to ride.