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Major Taylor youth leadership retreat

Wednesday, June 20th, 2012 by

A little over a month ago, 23 Major Taylor students hailing from four high schools spent two days and one night at the first-ever Major Taylor Youth Leadership Retreat, bonding as a community, cooking healthy food and learning about how to use bicycling as a tool to make a difference in the world. Students met at 9 a.m. and biked between three and 12 miles from their respective schools, congregating at Camp Long in West Seattle.

Students cook together during our first-ever Major Taylor Youth Leadership Retreat.

The weekend was structured so that students had opportunities to interact through games, discussions, preparing food, and free time to explore the climbing wall and the camp grounds. Small groups were assigned, dividing up students from the same schools so that they could intermingle and develop friendships with students from other Major Taylor clubs.

During one activity, Roberto Ascalon, a facilitator and Bike Club leader at Chief Sealth High School, posited a question to the group, “For you, is biking more like Power, Adventure, Community, or Freedom?” The group separated into four smaller groups to discuss why they chose the particular concept to describe biking. Ixael, a student from Highline High School who was in the Freedom group, said, “Biking for me is freedom. When I get on my bike and start riding I just forget what I am really stressed about.” In the Community group, Keanu, a student from Global Connections, expressed that “We ride because it connects our mind, body and soul. Through this connection with ourselves and each other, we create community.” Students in the Power group said, “Biking empowers us to be more confident” and “It helps us to become stronger and realize that we are all leaders.”

After an evening of s’mores and glow-in-the-dark Frisbee, students returned to their cabins for a few hours of rest. The following day, after mouthwatering pancakes and eggs cooked by the morning kitchen crew, the discussion continued, allowing space and time for students to share their stories and brainstorm ways to move the Major Taylor project forward. They came up with ideas from “delivering presentations to schools about the benefits of bicycling on our health and the environment,” to having Major Taylor students stay after school on non-bike club days to tutor friends and classmates.

At one point, a student spoke up and said, “What if we give Major Taylor graduating seniors scholarships for college?” Students bounced ideas off of one another. Miguel took the idea one step further, “What if all the students who ride the STP raise $25, and then if there are 40 students who ride, we would have $1,000 so one of the graduating seniors can have money to buy books? Each kid tries to raise $25 as a pledge [for the STP]. They don’t have to get the money from one person; they could get $1 from 25 people. The students get to vote for which senior they want to give the scholarship to. That way, students are even more involved in ‘making a change.’”

When youth have passion and energy, the possibilities are endless. After this inaugural retreat, we can only hope to provide many more opportunities where students have space to get their wheels turning, on and off the road.

Students from four schools came together for a weekend of inspiration, learning and fun.

Posted in Kids on bikes, Major Taylor Project | No Comments »

Major Taylor Project is hiring a Ride Leader

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012 by

Cascade Bicycle Club’s Major Taylor Project is seeking an After School Ride Instructor to lead bike rides and enrichment activities for high school students in South/Southeast Seattle. The Major Taylor Project is an after-school program committed to providing bicycling skills and safety activities to an ethnically diverse group of youth. It provides youth with an introduction to different styles of bicycling, road riding and safety, track riding at the Velodrome , mountain biking, and preparation for longer rides (Seattle to Portland STP).

The after school portion will typically take place Thursdays, from 2:00pm to 5:00pm (summer hours may differ), though some flexibility and occasional attendance of weekend events is required. The program is run at five locations, some 1x/week, others 2x/week, from late March to late July. Occasional substitution for other ride leaders may be needed.

There is a required training on March 31 from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m.  Diverse applicants encouraged to apply.

The Project Instructor will be responsible for:

• Planning routes and leading weekly rides for groups of 10-25 youth
• Teaching riding skills and light bicycle maintenance
• Teaching and enforcing safe road riding techniques
• Developing mentoring relationships with youth
• Monitoring student progress and needs as appropriate
• Providing documented lesson plans for all activities
• Committing to attend all weekly ride sessions
• Attending special events with youth as appropriate
• Attending Cascade’s 8-hour Urban Cycling Techniques course, and a four-hour instructor training

Qualifications include:

• Experience (volunteer/paid) working with youth, especially as a camp councilor or in teaching or coaching
• Demonstrated knowledge of bicycling activities and curriculum
• Bicycling experience
• Basic bike mechanic skills
• Ability to relate to, inspire and motivate youth
• Ability to take Cascade instructor training prior to program
• CPR / First Aid certified (we can provide this)
• 18 years or older
• Ability to commit to all seventeen weeks of the program (Week of March 19th-July 15)

Email resume and cover letter to:

Emma Epstein
206-957-6960
Major Taylor Project Assistant
Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation

The Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, or sex.

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Major Taylor parents love Earn-a-Bike

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 by

Interested in donating a bike? Drop off your gently-used bike at our office, 7400 Sand Point Way NE, between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. For questions, please email our  Major Taylor Project Assistant at mtpa@cascadebicycleclub.org.

Last Thursday’s Earn-a-Bike session was a significant milestone in the development of the Major Taylor Project. For the first time ever, the celebratory end of the session—where students are awarded locks, lights and helmets and ride their bike home for keeps—was coupled with an invite to all parents, family and friends of the students. We sent letters home and called, letting families know that they were valued as part of the Major Taylor Project and that we would love to meet them. We acknowledged the importance of formalizing relationships with guardians early on in the year, especially if we are going to convince them to let their child ride with us in July on the epic 206 miles of STP.

 

Around 4 p.m., as students were tweaking final screws, test riding outside, or rummaging through boxes of Cascade swag (leftover event shirts), parents began to arrive, delighted to see what their kids have undertaken the past few

weeks. More than ten parents and siblings came, including a mother whose son couldn’t come because he had to another school commitment.

One mother, who spoke to me confidentially in Spanish, told me how her son was failing some of his classes and that the bike club was the only place her son really excelled. She had asked her boss for the afternoon off, to be present and support her son engaging in what he was most passionate about. I told her how helpful and productive her son was in the club and that Major Taylor Project was considering instituting a grade standard for enrollment in the program.

Once all the parents had arrived, we stood around in our customary ice-breaking circle; this time, the parents had to be involved. The theme for the game was to share your name, and not your favorite fruit, but if you were a fruit, what fruit would you be. We tossed around the conventional, “talking” bike tube, as we transformed into artichokes, strawberries and apples.

After the intro game, Serena Lehman and Erica Hann of Cascade led an activity to engage residents in the process of helping SeaTac become a more accessible place for bikers and pedestrians. In order to accommodate for some of the parents who had Limited English Proficiency (LEP), the students led their parents around to the various questions posted on the wall.

This event allowed parents to see what goes on in bike club and the opportunity to offer their support and approval. It provided a space for parents to ask questions like, “how the heck do you get the resources to run a program like that?” The principal of Global Connections, Rick Harwood, a “blackberry,” took his time illuminating just how much Major Taylor Project adds to the school. This is a program that the students, the school and staff, and the parents can all get behind.

Posted in Education, Kids on bikes, Major Taylor Project | No Comments »

Major Taylor takes on a cyclocross race

Monday, December 19th, 2011 by

The group of nine bunched up, geared with new cyclocross tires on Redline bikes, ready for the Woodland Park Cyclecross Race. The air was crisp, but clear. Hundreds of people were shouting. On Sunday, Nov. 13, students in the Major Taylor program and members of Cascade staff (first Cyclocross race ever for yours truly and first race for Ed Ewing in 15 years), rode around the muddy, leaf-covered, race-track with almost 1,000 other riders of all ages.

Before the race, the students were firing up on hot cider and warm, homemade cinnamon rolls that Robin Randels brought and served. (Thanks Robin!) For those who had ridden a cyclocross race before, they knew what to expect, and enjoyed showing off how muddy they were after multiple falls. For the newbie riders, they showed up after three rounds a little cleaner; they were riding a little more carefully.

After the race, the group went to Tutta Bella on Stone Way. They played tables games and chatted with each other and staff. An hour later, with nine pizzas consumed and bodies reinvigorated, they loaded up in the 16 passenger van and headed back with new experiences in the biking world.

That Sunday in the park would not have been possible without our collective efforts…our Major Taylor community. A big thank you goes to Union Gospel Mission and to AJ Campanelli for safe transportation and guidance. Thank you to Zac and Terry of MFG for donating registration to the group.  Tutta Bella offers an astounding philanthropic deal for non-profits: 50% off your total bill and the tab for nine pizzas came to a whopping $56.00. This student experience could not have happened without your support…thank you!

Posted in Kids on bikes, Major Taylor Project, Racing | No Comments »

Major Taylor has started the year off right!!

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011 by

Major Taylor has started the school year off right! 50 students registered for the fall riding session at Global Connections and 15 students are riding at Chief Sealth. Earn-a-Bike classes are up and running, maxed out at 15 at both Global Connections and YES! Foundation. “Bike Club” popularity has grown tremendously and students are asking for more!

At the end of the first riding session last month, Major Taylor staff facilitated a reflection session where the students offered insight into the club, thoughts about where the group rides to, wanting more/less hills and project ideas for the Spring session. One particular student shared the following…“We should raise money or have a ‘bike club’ scholarship for students heading to college…” Other students along with Ride Leader David Stern, agreed and added….”perhaps the scholarship could be for a bike, a laptop, and books for college…”. Principal Rick Harwood, Math teacher AJ Campanelli, and the MTP team, concluded that this could be very significant for the students and for the project. Ideas like these will be a driving force in the future for the Major Taylor Project.

We have so many interested bikers that we had to reconstruct the entire bike cage. With plywood and old bike tires, we accommodated for 40 bikes in a 10ftx8ft space!

Posted in Major Taylor Project | No Comments »

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