“First Ride,” a free class designed to help kids ditch the training wheels and learn how to ride their two-wheel bicycles safely, will be held on Saturday, June 15 from Noon -3 p.m. on the west playground of Atwater Elementary School ( 2100 East Capitol Drive, Shorewood). Pre-registration for First Ride is required, at the BID’s website, www.shorewoodwi.com. Deadline for pre-registration is June 10. Rain location is the Atwater School Gymnasium.
This third annual event is presented by the Shorewood Business Improvement District (BID) with support from the Shorewood Police Department and Rainbow Jersey Bicycles.
This unique class is specially designed to help kids 10 and younger learn to balance and feel comfortable without using training wheels. It’s based on an innovative “balancing first” method that involves removing the bike pedals and lowering the seat during practice. Parents find it provides them with an easier teaching method – one that helps eliminate skinned knees and frayed nerves from what can be a frustrating learning process. Rainbow Jersey staff and Shorewood police officers will be on hand to lead the training session.
The class leads into the 10th Annual Shorewood’s Criterium Cycling Classic, set for Thursday, June 20 beginning at 4:30 p.m. This year, a new race for amateur cyclists kicks off at 4:30 p.m. The Shorewood Criterium kicks off the 11-race series known as the Tour of America’s Dairyland, featuring international professional and amateur cyclists competing in cities throughout Wisconsin from June 20-July 30. Those kids who participate in the First Ride class will receive a certificate and have the opportunity to lead the Kids’ Roll, a special kids’ ride between races at the Shorewood Criterium.
“The sense of achievement and pride these kids have when their training wheels come off is amazing,” said Jerry Pearce, owner of Rainbow Jersey Bicycles. “We are so pleased to join with Shorewood BID to help parents and kids make this special time more enjoyable and stress-free.”
The Shorewood Business Improvement District was established by commercial property owners and the Village of Shorewood in 1999 to promote the neighborhood as a premier destination for retail and service businesses to locate and thrive. Shorewood is also the first Village in Wisconsin to receive the designation of “Bicycle-Friendly Community” by the League of American Bicyclists.
Rainbow Jersey Bicycles is a locally-owned Shorewood bike shop that has been in business in the North Shore since 1973.
