Pedal Power

Elias has a real passion for bike riding. On average he rides his bike 2 hours a day on his own in front of the house. He is constantly dragging the ramp out, trying new tricks, using different bikes, pushing his ability. He is thrilled to go out to the ramps; a formal bmx track near our house, with his dad and brother. Family bike rides are another delight. When I asked each of the kids what they wanted to do this coming year Elias' first comment was bike ride. He would love to start each day with a bike ride, which actually really works for the family. We often start with a dog walk, helping everyone get those jiggles out, so this would work for everyone- accept the dog of course. In sharing Elias' interests for next year a friend commented she had read about a bicycling curriculum in a homeschooling magazine. I mentioned this to Elias, wondering if he is only interested in the hands on part or if he would like to dive deeper. He is game! So I started looking up resources and came up with these web sites

GORBA Guelph Off Roading Bike Association
Bike Safety
Tour de France
Biking in Ontario trails, clubs
Bike maintenance
Bicycle History
Teachers Package

Together we came up with some ideas

-setting up a bike course and timing ourselves going through it
-setting up obstacles that will help us with skills ie. riding on a beam for balanace
-learning our hand signals (better)
-learning what you need to know to ride on the road
-have the knoweldge to fix our bike, maintain it
-visit the bike shops in town, set up a clinic for learning to fix your bike
-learn about different types of bike riding;bmx, racing, mountain biking, trick riding, long distance
-history- when bike was invented, different types of bikes over time
-what jobs involve bikes- couriers, messengers, etc.
-bike rally
-biking club
-mapping out different routes
-gears and the simple machine of a bike

We will keep adding as we explore the topic- love to hear ideas too!