On Saturday, May 6, 2023, Slate Valley Trails and Vermont Mountain Bike Association hosted the inaugural Adult Learn to Bike Clinic at the Fairgrounds in Poultney, VT. We want to thank the participants, coaches, volunteers, and community sponsors for helping make this event a huge success!
Over 34 individuals joined us throughout the day to get on a bike and improve their bike handling skills. Participants showed up, ready to learn, turned their trust over to their coaches, and together we saw confidence on a bike grow.
We split into three groups where we could accommodate every type of rider, from those who were not comfortable on a bike or had never gone mountain biking to those who wanted to level up their mountain biking skills. Bravery smiles and lots of laughs all around.
The Learn to Bike Clinic is part of VMBA’s Learn to Bike Month DEI Initiative. Through this Initiative, we want everyone to feel empowered to access trails, bike paths, and bike parks. The VMBA DEI Committee partnered with community organizers and VMBA Chapters to offer free access to bikes and coaching, providing an opportunity for those wanting to try biking for the first time or improving their mountain bike riding skills but have had barriers to do so.
“It was absolutely amazing to see members of the community ranging from teenagers to retirees feeling confident on bikes. We had ah-ha moments from those who were looking to improve their bike handling skills, to those learning how to ride a bike for the first time. Slate Valley Trails was the perfect space and Chapter to work with, and we couldn’t have asked for a better crew of volunteers.” – Kenzie Fuqua, Coach & VMBA DEI Coordinator.
The Adult Learn to Bike Clinic was only possible with all the community sponsors donating their time, energy, and resources. Thank you to the local bike shops (Base Camp, Alpine Bikeworks, & Johnson and Son Bike Works), who brought fleets of demo bikes to get each participant on a bike for FREE. Thank you to the talented coaches and community sweeps who taught valuable skills and encouraged and praised our participants (Caitrin, Kenzie, Anna, Jeff, Kate, Adam, and Rachel). Thank you to our community volunteers who helped check folks, take photos, and warm our burritos (Chuck, Gail, Tim). And lastly, thank you to Ranch Camp for donating burritos so we could feed our hungry participants and volunteers after they worked so hard.
We look forward to continuing this work throughout Vermont! To learn more about VMBA’s DEI efforts, visit our website page.