Bikes Active
Our Program
The Bikes Active program is a cycling engagement and education program, which encourages youth aged 12-16 to adopt cycling as a healthy form of active transport and to engage in an active lifestyle. The program targets students who struggle to learn in a classroom setting and are therefore at risk of disengaging with the curriculum or who are financially disadvantaged. Thirty programs will be delivered in 10 schools over the 3-year project period.
The program is funded by the Active State Collaboration Program - 2022-23 from the Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing.
Each program consists of:
- a 7-week school-based mountain-biking program to engage youth in active cycling skills, teaching road safety, bike maintenance, and the wellbeing benefits of making healthy lifestyle choices;
- delivery of the “Bike Olympics”, a fun and engaging one-day cycling activity for students in Week 8 of the program;
- free access to our road safety online module;
- donation of 10 refurbished bikes to each school per program from project partner Bikes for Refugees. The Bikes will be given to financially disadvantaged students to foster equitable access to cycling;
- 10 helmets per program, gifted to students by Bicycle SA.
Engaging with students
The 7-week mountain bike program is a cycling engagement and education program, which encourages youth aged 12-16 to adopt cycling as a healthy form of active transport and to engage in an active lifestyle. The program targets students who struggle to learn in a classroom setting and are therefore at risk of disengaging with the curriculum or who are financially disadvantaged. Through fun challenges, students learn basic mountain bike skills over the first few sessions on school grounds. Depending on their skill progression, our instructors choose trails and tracks near the school where the students can experience mountain biking on actual rides. The program is flexible and caters for the individual needs and skills of the student group, meaning the trails and riding locations are chosen based on the different student’s skill levels.
Program outcomes
- Get more youth riding in the Adelaide metropolitan area
- Get more youth motivated to be active and healthy
- Promote recreational cycling and active mobility to youth and encourage them to adopt cycling long term as part of an active healthy lifestyle and way of transport;
- Increase the attendance and engagement for youth at-risk with their school, by introducing an alternative learning program
- Provide financially disadvantaged youth with access to a helmet and refurbished bike
- Create opportunities for more youth to access information about cycling and health promotion through the development of online modules.
The Bike Olympics
The Bike Olympics event is a day of bike promotion and part of the program that nurtures inspiration, shares knowledge, and motivates more youth to ride bikes. At the end of each 7-week mountain bike program, your school's broader cohort of students – up to 120-140 participants – are invited to participate in the Bike Olympics. Students who participated earlier in the Bikes Active program are highly encouraged to join in either as a participant or mentor at a station for the other students.
This event can also be delivered as a one-off engagement independently of the Bikes Active program. Please contact us to discuss.
Our people
Antje Dietz
Program Manager
Brad Grantham
Instructor
Tommy Eyers
Instructor
