All I Want To Do Is Ride My Bike

Kittie D. Weston-KnauerIowa Trails Summit

Friday, June 19, 2010

“Fun” Bike Things

• Having a bike to ride• Taking care of my bike• Riding my bike with my friends• Taking part in fun activities with my bike

Through partnerships, we can provide a variety of healthy, fun cycling activities for youth of all ages.

How do we make getting kids on bikes a reality?

Partnerships

BMX pioneer can't wait for season to startMay 14, 2009

By DAVE DOLMAGEcommunity@dmeg.com

Weston-Knauer has been involved with BMX, or bicycle motocross, since her son became interested in the sport. A pioneering woman rider, Weston-Knauer still takes part in numerous races every year and is instrumental in recruiting women to the activity.

The Women of BMX

In 2001 she helped organize local riders to work with the city of Des Moines to build the BMX track at Ewing Park. The track, operated as a public/private partnership between the city and BMX riders, allows the city to offer services that it otherwise wouldn't be able to afford, said Doug Romig, park services manager for Des Moines.

"These partnerships are great for us because they minimize the taxpayers' cost and we can still offer the same services," Romig said. "The users don't know the difference."

BMX pioneer can't wait for season to start, cont.May 14, 2009

BMX RacingPartnering with Ewing Park BMX and Des Moines Parks and Rec

Schools

Scavo Campus Fall Bike Ride

ASK Learning Center RAGBRAI

Schools, cont.

Hillis Elementary bike safety, maintenance, and etiquette presentation

Hillis Elementary BMX Presentation

What a fantastic feeling to see the smile of a child who has a new bike. Such was the case for over 70 children, 5-17, from the Homes of Oakridge Saturday, May 2, in the parking lot of Edmunds Elementary School. These children had waited throughout the winter for bicycles that would provide them the freedom to roam and explore their neighborhood in a healthy and safe manner.

DESMOINESBIKE COLLECTIVE

Changing Des Moines two wheels at a time.

Homes of Oakridge

Bike RodeoWith their new bikes and helmets, youth learned the rules of the road.

Sunday, May 3, saw about 60 children, some with bikes in tow, waiting for their “new” bikes. Word had spread through the Oakridge neighborhood Saturday that bikes would be given away on Sunday. However, this was the day that we, as volunteers from the Des Moines Bicycle Collective, would be repairing bicycles.

Homes of Oakridge, cont.

Homes of Oakridge, cont.

Carl Voss of the Des Moines Bike Collective, along with volunteer Kittie Weston-Knauer, visited the Bookin’ on Bikes program at Scavo twice in the past week. They have been sharing their expertise about biking safety and etiquette with the students and staff. We learned all about the different parts of a bike and what to check to make sure our bikes are safe before we ride each day. We also learned many new terms and ways to communicate in order to be safe on the roads and trails.

Teaching Bike Safety and Etiquette

DesMoinesRegister.comEvery School Every Thursday — Des Moines East/NorthAPRIL 9, 2009Scavo

A 12-year-old girl who lives at the Des Moines YWCA with her mother spotted a sign on a storefront window downtown last month. It offered a free bicycle.

Basu: Make bicycles, sense of freedom accessibleREKHA BASU – RBasu@DMReg.com – April 3, 2009

Dana Drew no longer had a bike. She went back and was offered a deal: Volunteer five hours and get a bike to keep. She earned it that week, in time for spring break. And Kittie Weston-Knauer, the former principal of Scavo alternative school, escorted her on her first ride. . .

Dana and Kittie wrenching Dana’s bike.

Kittie adjusts Dana’s helmet.

Dana Drew on Her “New” Bike

. . .Dana Drew tries out her new bike recently with help from Kittie Weston-Knauer, the former principal of Scavo alternative School.

A Trike-A-Thon was held to provide a fun day of cycling for the community; especially the children who live at the YWCA with their mothers. The bikes were provided by the Variety Club of Iowa. Helmets were provided by the Bicycle Collective.

Partnering with the YWCA and Variety Club of Iowa

YWCA Trike-A-Thon, cont.

Partnering with the Boys and Girls Club

And what’s on tap for this summer?

• Training another group of youth for RAGBRAI

• Cycling clinic in Evelyn Davis Park

• Bike Camp at the John R. Grubb YWCA

• Mentoring students to “Earn a Bike”

• And . . .

Ewing Park home to BMX track; girls sought to competeBy MEGHAN V. MALLOY • community@dmreg.com • June 3, 2010

One of the first women in the nation to competitively ride BMX bikes, Weston-Knauer, 61, overcame a broken neck to continue developing the BMX sport in Des Moines and throughout the United States.

The Ewing Park Club has 35 regular members, ranging in age from 5 to 61, Conrath said. Missing from the club this season, however, are females, something Conrath and Weston-Knauer want to change.

Other partnership activities have included:

• Bike tune-ups at Moulton Elementary and Drake Neighborhood• Bike/trike safety, maintenance and etiquette courses• Bike to school safe routes developed• East Side Boxing Club bike tune-up in conjunction with the Police athletic league• Dream team mentor• Partnership with Scavo Campus “Bookin’ On Bikes”• Mentor youth through an “Earn-A-Bike” program

We look to the future to:

• Expand the partnerships • With partners, get more bicycles and helmets to youth• With partners, create more cycling activities in neighborhoods and parks• Bring more schools on line• Develop more safe routes for students

As a community, there is so much more that we can do to assure that children have a safe and serviceable bicycle that enables them to roam their neighborhoods as they begin to explore their world.

Kittie D. Weston-Knauer