At the League, we’re proud to work alongside partners who are helping to make biking a lifelong skill from an early age. As part of our Ready to Ride campaign, we’re highlighting organizations that are expanding access to high-quality cycling education and empowering the next generation of riders. In this partner spotlight, we’re excited to feature Trips for Kids and the youth-serving programs they offer in communities across the country.
What is Trips for Kids?
Trips for Kids (TFK) is among the oldest national youth development bicycling organizations. The first Trips for Kids chapter was started in San Rafael, California (Marin County) by Marilyn Price in 1988. Since then, TFK has grown, enriching the lives of young people across America using a simple yet powerful tool – the bicycle. Trips for Kids programming reaches over 10,000 youth annually, in partnership with schools, local agencies, and community organizations, as well as dozens of dedicated Trips for Kids chapters nationwide.
💡 Learn more about the journey of Trips for Kids in our 2023 blog
In 2023, Trips for Kids’ programming resources were transferred to the League of American Bicyclists, becoming another resource in the League’s efforts to ensure all children learn to ride safely.
How it Works
Trips for Kids chapters run one or more of TFK’s primary programs, which include Trail Rides, Earn-a-Bike Workshops, and ReCyclery Community Bike Shops. In addition to providing programmatic resources and best practices, TFK assists member programs with sponsorship support, networking opportunities, and discounted ride insurance options.
Trail Rides
Trips for Kids Trail Rides are the centerpiece of the organization’s programming and critical to providing youth with feet-on-pedals experiences to ensure they are ready to ride for a lifetime.
TFK has two trail riding programs:
- Discovery Trail Rides is a one-day, intro to mountain biking program designed to get beginners on the trail as safely and efficiently as possible.
- Adventure Bike Clubs are a series of rides that follow a similar program structure as the Discovery program, but focus on skill building and progression with more experienced riders.
Earn-a-Bike Workshops
Youth participating in the Earn-a-Bike Workshop complete hands-on lessons in bike maintenance and bike safety. Not only are participants learning practical bike maintenance skills, but they can also earn a bike of their own, along with other necessary parts and supplies.
For example, imagine a classroom environment where kids can get covered in grease, use tools, complete projects together, and receive mentorship from other students and certified adult volunteers.
ReCyclery Community Bike Shops
Some Trips for Kids chapters operate ‘ReCyclery’ bike shops that help support their youth cycling programs. These shops are more than just places to buy a bike; they keep used bikes out of landfills and provide affordable, environmentally-friendly modes of transportation and youth cycling education.
TFK ReCyclery’s work is possible thanks to donated bikes, parts, and supplies from community members, bike manufacturers, and industry retailers. These critical donations are used by students in the Earn-a-Bike program or are sold to the public during store hours.
Trips for Kids in Action: TFK Charlotte
In addition to providing cycling education and recreational riding opportunities for youth, Trips for Kids Charlotte operates a Re-Cyclery (community bike shop) with a new program piloted last year called the “Community Bench.”
“The idea behind the program (Community Bench) is access to tools and resources where anyone can utilize a full bench of tools to work on and repair their bike, support our mission by volunteering to process donations, or support a friend trying to get their bike rolling again. It isn’t a new idea amongst bike co-ops and nonprofit organizations, and we expected it to be as others have experienced with “open bench” formats, though we found that creating these 3rd spaces and opportunities were much more impactful than just a place to work on your bike.
— Eric Supil, Executive Director
The Community Bench area sits in the center of the TFK Charlotte shop, next to their parts wall and front service desk. The bench is the focal point of the shop and reflects TFK Charlotte’s commitment to creating spaces that serve its local community
The Community Bench area features six full-size repair stands and a full bench of tools. In addition to the “Bench” being available for public use – for free – during regular business hours, they use the equipment in their programming, including Tuesday Volunteer Nights, youth clinics, and bicycle maintenance sessions.
At the end of their full-year pilot, staff noticed that large groups of teenagers consistently used the benches after school and on the weekends, especially before heading out on group rides. Eric stated that many youth claimed that other bike shops were too expensive, wouldn’t help them, or that they liked working on their own bike at the Re-Cyclery. Some teens travelled for over an hour from the other side of the city to use the Community Bench.
For context, Trips for Kids Charlotte exists in a bicycle shop desert within what is known as the “Corridors of Opportunity,” which represent areas of the city where bicycle shops and bicycle support resources are not accessible and have historically not existed.
Over the first year, TFK Charlotte’s Community Bench served over 200 individuals a year. Nearly a quarter of them were teens exploring mechanics, being creative with building their bikes. Trips for Kids Charlotte has found their Community Bench to be more than workstands and tools, but a true community-building space for cyclists, especially young bikers.
What Makes Trips for Kids Unique
TFK is unique not only because it is one of the longest-running providers of youth cycling education in the country, but it also provides a suite of standard-setting instructional resources and best practices for sustainably engaging young people through bikes and keeping them safe along the ride. Trips for Kids programming is available to any organization, school, or community that would like to get more young people on bikes and help them develop the life-long skills cyclists acquire along the way.
The League is excited that we can continue supporting the work Trips for Kids started back in 1988. The mission to get all kids on-bike will take all of us, and we know when all kids are Ready to Ride, we all win.