Trips for Kids Charlotte

Ride Program

Saturdays at 9:00 a.m., weather permitting (Feb. – Nov.)

See Calendar for schedule

The Ride Program provides mentored mountain
biking experiences for typically ten children on
Saturday mornings from February through
November at Fisher Farm and Colonel Francis
Beatty Parks. Area bicycle clubs and TFKC
volunteers provide volunteer leadership on the
rides. Kids groups and adult volunteers interested
in participating can email the ride coordinator at
info@tripsforkidscharlotte.org.

We take kids on mountain bike rides to have fun and to promote personal achievement and self-empowerment.  As Latosha said, “If I stick with it, I can make it to the top.”

Our kids come to us from existing community- based organizations who work with 10-15 year olds kids from Charlotte’s “fragile” neighborhoods. Our program is often used as a reward for kids from these organizations for good behavior and/or good grades. Each ride begins with a safety session to ensure everyone understands the “rules of the trails” and all aspects of operating their bike safely.

The skill level of the group, determines the level of trail ridden. As the kids’ proficiency increases, they are challenged with more difficult trails. Many of our rides have members from local cycling clubs such as the Dirt Divas or Cannonballs serving as volunteers and working with the kids. CMPD officers also volunteer on our rides.

Contact us if your organization would like to ride with us.

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GETTING IN/STAYING IN

 

Kids must come from “fragile” communities or environments, which include but are not limited to: inner city neighborhoods; housing projects; impoverished rural communities; single-parent homes; foster homes; environments where positive role models are scarce.

Kids must be enrolled in a school or a home schooling program complying with the educational laws of the state they reside in, either North or South Carolina.

Kid’s may be asked to commit to an improvement track for addressing a specific issue in their development, such as an educational track to improve grades or a mentoring track to help them in their personal development.

A completed and parent signed waiver form must be on file before kids are allowed to participate.

Bad Behavior Rule: Disqualification from next ride and/or increased community service before joining another ride.

The conditions for “staying in” the Kids Program are subject to change.

SAFETY

All kids must wear a helmet (provided by TFKC) to participate in the program.

Kids participate in Trips for Kids Charlotte Skills Clinic before they participate in any Mountain or Road bike rides. The Skills Clinic will cover both Road and Off-road Trail safety, including IMBA’s “Rules of the Trail”.www.imba.com.

It will be Trips for Kids Charlotte “standard operating procedure” to cover Road and Off-road Trail safety before the start of any ride. On rides, kids will be broken out into groups based on their skills level determined from Skills Clinics and previous rides.

Throughout the rides, the importance of taking care of your bike and your body is encouraged.

Here is a good video on bike safety and preparation: