Some Chilliwack and Abbotsford elementary students in Grades 4 and 5 will be taking part in the provincial Everyone Rides program for the first time this year.
“Cycling education in schools helps encourage everyone to choose an accessible way to improve their health and fight climate change,” said Rose Gardner, director of bike education at HUB Cycling. “We’re so excited to see this program expanding into Chilliwack and Abbotsford.”
The Everyone Rides Grades 4-5 program teaches kids skills like stopping, hand signals and road signs. Bikes and helmets are provided, and as well as adaptive options for children with disabilities.
The program was created by HUB Cycling, a non-profit organization with a history of breaking down barriers to cycling, and it’s heading into its fifth year of encouraging safe active-transportation options in an organized environment.
The 2024 expansion will see as many as 15,000 students in as many as 40 communities experience “the joy and freedom” of riding a bicycle this school year.
“Building the foundational skills to ride a bike safely steers our community towards a future less reliant on cars,” said Rob Fleming, minister of transportation and infrastructure.
Students in the Capital Region, Metro Vancouver, Kelowna, West Kootenays, Fraser Valley, Powell River, Campbell River and Prince George have been learning basic biking skills and helmet safety.
More than 33,000 children have participated in communities throughout the province, and the B.C. government has invested more than $2 million in the Everyone Rides Grades 4-5 program since 2019.
READ MORE: Everyone Rides starts across B.C.