May 30/08 7:08 am - Cycling BC Youth Team Reaches 370 New Riders with Grass Velodrome Program

Posted by Editoress on 05/30/08
 

Cycling BC Youth Team Reaches 370 New Riders with Grass Velodrome Program
By Cycling BC Youth Coach, Dan Proulx

Blue Mountain School in Maple Ridge, BC hosted the 9th Cycling BC Youth Team event of the season. Special thanks goes to Principal Linda Dyck and the Parent's Advisory Council who were instrumental in getting this event off the ground.

Blue Mountain integrated the Youth Team program into their regular class schedule for the day. Grades were divided among 4 divisions. Each group enjoyed 40 minutes of racing instruction ˆ highlighted by a series of very competitive races. It was incredible to see kids pick up so many skills in such a short lesson. In addition to the racing, the students were also given a refresher course in bicycle handling and road safety skills ˆ essential for the summer holidays ahead.

The highlight of the day was the final group which was given a special 90 minute block of time for their cycling lesson. These students improved more than any others in the Youth Team program to date. In one lesson they advanced through pacelines, pack racing skills and right into some fast racing. In their paceline work they spontaneously started to create breakaways by learning to jump into any available gap in the line. Soon there were two groups, with one group chasing the other and all riders taking half lap pulls. It was pretty amazing to see a bunch of Grade 6 students learn a few track racing skills and then adapt them to new situations.

In total, 120 students participated in today's event. Since January, the Cycling BC Youth Team program has taught cycling to 370 students from across British Columbia.

The next Youth Team event will take place on June 2-6 in the Queen Charlotte Islands. 4 schools are participating. The clinic will hosted by the Queen Charlotte Recreation Commission.

 

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