Learning to ride is a life skill you can do at any age, and BikePGH is thrilled to offer this resource to our community

It’s never too late to learn something new, even for us! That’s why on select Fridays this past summer we took over The Bud Harris Cycling Track, so that riders of all ages could take their first steps and pedal strokes towards learning to ride a bike at our new Learn 2 Ride events. With the help of CitiParks, POGOH bike share, and our expert team of League Cycling Instructors (Dawna Bivins, Laura Brienza, Seth Bush, Lucy Klug, Tobias Raether, Sarah Scherk, Mike and Markisha White, and Robin Woods) we provided learning opportunities for over fifty kids and fifteen adults. Special shoutout to Mike Potoczny from TBA Bike Park who lent his years of experience teaching new cyclists to our staff training and classes. Read on for a recap of the series and check out the incredible photos by photographers Dani Dawn here and Murphy Moschetta here.

The Balance First Approach

Inspired by the League of American Bicyclists’ new Learn to Ride curriculum, all our group classes utilized a “balance first” approach. With this approach, training wheels and pedals are removed, so that riders can first learn to balance before they progress to pedaling. See the video below to see the “balance first” approach in action and remember, you can turn any bike into a balance bike by removing the pedals and training wheels, and lowering the seat. Note: use a pedal wrench to remove pedals and be mindful that youth pedals come in either the 9/16″ or 15mm size. Left-side bicycle pedals are reverse threaded so they are “lefty-tighty/ righty-loosey.” On either side of the bike, the wrench will turn towards the back wheel of the bike to remove the pedals- think “back off!”

Making Space for All Ages to Learn

To make space for all ages to learn and be comfortable, the event featured a Kids Pedal & Balance Bike Area for toddlers through 5-year-olds to practice striding or pedaling with our fleet of kid-sized balance and pedal bikes. 5 to 12-year-olds attended a group class with hands-on instruction and teens through adults took a group class focused on first-time learners. Students either brought their own bikes or used our loaner bikes or bikes courtesy of POGOH.

Test Drive a POGOH on The Oval

Our Learn 2 Ride event also allowed attendees to try bikes from POGOH’s fleet on The Bud Harris Cycling Track. Known to many bike racers as “The Oval”, we took over this banked half-mile track to have some low-speed fun and gave riders plenty of space to get into their groove. POGOH bikes also helped many adult learners who lacked their own bikes. The upright position of POGOH bikes and their easily-adjustable saddle heights make them ideal bikes for new learners.

Continuing Education

Would you like private learn-to-ride instruction? Fill out this form to be matched with a private instructor. Note: private instructors charge an hourly rate for lessons.

Are you an adult or parent of a teen who is ready to take the next step as a rider? Register for one of our free Confident City Cycling Classes this fall and learn how to ride your bike anywhere in town! More info on our blog.

Thank You!

Thanks again to CitiParks for letting us use the amazing Bud Harris Cycling Track, POGOH for their support of these events, and our staff of Bike People outreach associates and League Cycling Instructors for making this event possible. Also, a big shoutout to Cannondale for providing us with seven children’s bikes for our educational programming! Lastly, thank you to BikePGH members like you for making free education like this possible!

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