The Bike Taupo Kids Program is a community led project which aims to teach children to ride confidently on two wheels. This goal fits well with the overall aim of its parent organisation Bike Taupo, which hopes to build a cycling culture in the Taupo District, with an increased number of adults and children on their bikes and a safer and healthier community.
As part of the program a bike instructor visits schools with bikes, helmets, jumps and a seesaw, loaded in a van. The program is at no cost to the schools in the wider Taupo area. Additionally the instructor attends local events with bikes and equipment.
During a morning or afternoon session the students are taken through a variety of bike handling manoeuvres, allowing them to get them more bike competent, learn how to keep themselves safe on the road and have fun at the same time.
The decision to assist the Bike Taupo Kids program was based on presentation of their business model, which demonstrated to the Alterno Foundation a cost effective approach to teaching bike confidence and encouraging children into physical activity. The project employs an instructor who is experienced in teaching children how to ride a bike rather than leaving it up to a teacher who may have no riding experience. Utilising school hours and premises enables the program to reach children from a variety of communities in Taupo.
Website details: www.biketaupo.org.nz/kids-on-bikes.html
