Just like a well-rounded athlete, our GET STOKED! Community Ride Days are just one of the types of mentoring programs that complete us as an organisation.
Designed to encourage young people to ride bikes, promote healthy behaviours and create a space for positive risk-taking, most of all the Lighthouse Youth Projects Get Stoked! events are designed to be FUN!
After venturing north to Balaklava earlier this April. On a wet, misty day in the school holidays, we found ourselves setting up the tent at the Suffolk Road BMX Track in Hawthorndene. The lesser-known cousin to the cultish Apex Jumps, this track has recently had an upgrade and presents a great space for children of all ages to learn and progress with their riding skills.
We were so pumped to see so many faces arrive early and ready to ride. Some kids just came solo, others came in a pack of mates ready to challenge each other. We even had kids like Ned, who was extremely hesitant to ride at all, to begin with, finishing the day getting both wheels off the ground in the bunny hop comp and grab a photo with Professional Downhill MTB Athlete Connor Fearon. You might also note in our photo gallery his mum, who like all rad mums hopped on the bike to have a go so Ned wouldn’t feel so nervous.
Get Stoked! encompasses several learnings that are essentially snuck into what normal riding behaviours should become. We get participants to look at their riding features, check over their bike, assess where their own skills lie and then start challenging themselves. Of all of the Lighthouse Youth Projects BMX bikes we brought along to ride, none were left idle, which is just fantastic to see.
By the end of the day and after 4 hours of riding, upwards of 50 kids were going to have a very good night’s sleep and even some new mates to go riding with in the future.
Everyone at Lighthouse Youth Projects would like to thank the City of Mitcham for having us out on their local trails and also Trudi from GD Wholesale Fruit Supplies who came over with a box of quite possibly the best local apples you ever did taste.
Most of all thanks to all the kids who came along and the families that joined them. You made our day with all your enthusiasm and smiles!
If you would like a Get Stoked! Community Ride Day in your local area make sure you get in touch with your local council or send us a note via our contact page.
