Bramalea CycleFest Kids Bike Giveaway to 65 kids
It’s two days to Bramalea CycleFest 2015 and it’s time for the kids bike giveaway! A sea of donated bikes inside All Peoples Church starts our evening.
More than half of the bikes were donated by Jennifer and Robert who also arranged for their friends and neighbours to help clean and repair them.
Other bikes came from various donors, all over Brampton. Michele from City of Brampton Recreation delivered some for repairs, while on her way past.
Peter and Gerald, volunteers from BikeBrampton, cleaned and repaired those at Brampton’s new Community Bike Centre at 222 Advance Blvd.
Three days ago, we fitted children with free bike helmets from the Canadian Tire Jump Start grant. Now, we are back inside All Peoples Church to fit the helmeted kids with bikes.
Dayle and I, along with 2 other bike fitter volunteers are matching kids with bikes, adjusting seats and handlebars and installing training wheels where necessary. We do our best to accommodate each kid’s desires for style, colour at a size that works for them. Surprisingly few tears erupt! A few more kids show up just before closing, and they still need helmets too! Another dash to the local Canadian Tire store is made…
Three hours, 65 bikes fitted; that’s just 11 minutes per bike!
Outside in the Church parking lot, Steve, Polly and Brenda help the kids put their bikes through an ‘ABC QuickCheck’ to learn a skill all cyclists should employ before setting out for a pedal. Wielding screwdrivers, our volunteers install Walk+Roll Peel bike bells on those missing bells to make the bikes legal!
Then Erica and Andria instruct the kids to cycle through the Bike Rodeo courses in safety and style, even through the rain showers!
Pastor Finu breathes a sigh of relief when another step in his vision for Bramalea CycleFest 2015 has been completed.
The helmeted kids will return on Saturday to pick up their fitted bikes, have parents sign waivers, completing their kids bike giveaway, to participate in the first annual Bramalea CycleFest!