Elle Steele and I were asked by North Natomas Transportation Management Associatian to volunteer as LCIs to provide a new component to this year’s event: a skills course and fun bicycle activities for new bike owners. H Allen Hight School:

About 50 Bikes for 50 Kids: on Monday, January 19, 2015, Martin Luther King Jr. Day and the National Day of Service, community volunteers joined forces in North Natomas to help 50 kids transform bike parts into 50 ready-to-ride bicycles. Students were nominated by teachers and other community members for the content of their character. The day was made possible by generous donations from businesses and organizations, as well as volunteers that give their time to mentor local youth.

At 10 am (and again at 1 pm), 25 students arrive, check in, and meet their team members who will help them build their own bike.

Mechanics in red t-shirts (like Bike Mike from Natomas Bike Shop) checked everyone’s bike before leaving the gym for the next a set of stations.

Each student was announced by the DJ and everyone stopped for a moment to clap as they entered the cafeteria.

There were many proud parents and happy students.

At the various stations, students received a new helmet and had it properly fit, received a U-and-cable bike lock and learned how to use it correctly, wrote a thank-you note to their sponsor, registered their bike with the police department, and had their official picture taken.

Finally, the new bicycles and riders came to our bicycle skills stations. Here Elle taught a student about the best position for a strong start. We call it power pedal.

We had a wealth of volunteers to help us and to make our hazards course more colorful.


We also had a Group Riding station and an activity called Calf Roping: throwing a hula hoop over a chair as you ride by.

What a privilege to be a part of this event. Abbey Harding (below in red shirt) of North Natomas Transportation Management Association did a great job of organizing this event.