ABC's of Family Biking



Bigger!
Better!
and... it's Electric!

We are delighted to announce the return of “The ABC’s of Family Biking.” This free event, now in its third year, will celebrate the joy of biking with children and introduce local parents to the tools, skills and equipment that can help them start biking with their kids.

What

Held on Saturday, May 3rd from 11:00am – 2:00 pm at Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan, “The ABC’s of Family Biking” will offer:
  • A Show & Tell to talk to area parents who bike with children of all ages
  • Bicycles and equipment available at local bike shops to help parents bike safely with their children
  • Free Youth Bike course with WABA instructors to teach basic riding skills to children.
  • Parents & Kids Riding class to help parents bike alongside their kids, either alone or in a “bike train” group.
  • Balance bike races for our youngest riders
  • A cargo bike obstacle course where interested parents can test demonstration bikes and experienced family cyclists can pits their skills against one another in the East Coast’s first-ever “Fiets of Parenthood” competition
  • The opportunity for parents to “Swap or Sell” their gently used family biking equipment
  • Free bike repair clinics from The Bike House

The event will also provide a chance for families to practice their bicycling skills in advance of National Bike to School Day which will be May 7, 2014.

Where

The parking lot behind Capitol Hill Montessori School at Logan, 215 G Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. You can access the parking lot from either G Street or 2nd Street.

The location is easily accessible from the Union Station Metro and Capital Bikeshare stations.

When

Saturday, May 3rd from 11 am-2 pm, Show & Tell, Swap & Sell and Fiets of Parenthood course 11am - 1pm Youth Bike Course 11am - 12:30pm (Kids’ bikes & helmets will be available, or bring your own! Parents must sign a waiver in order for kids to participate.) Balance bike races at 11:30am Parents & Kids biking class begins at 1:00pm (All participants are encouraged to bring their own bikes & helmets. All participants will be required to sign a waiver.)

Partners and Presenters

Kidical Mass DC
DDOT Safe Routes to School
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
BicycleSPACE
The Daily Rider
The Green Commuter
Capitol Hill Bikes
Bikes to Borrow
The Bike House
Kasper’s Cargos, local distributor of Larry vs. Harry cargo bikes

More Details

  • Show & Tell: bikes on exhibit at the Show & Tell will include bakfiets, trailers, trail-a-bikes, Larry vs. Harry Bullitt, Xtracycle EdgeRunner, and Yuba Mundo. Parent cyclists will be on-hand to answer your questions about their bikes and their experiences biking with their children. This year, we will have several electric-assist cargo bikes available to view for parents who are interested in learning more about this new tool for family and cargo cycling. Test rides and "test sits" are entirely at the discretion of the bike owners. Please respect our exhibitors' bikes! If you're interested in being a Show & Tell parent, click here to sign up 
  • WABA Youth Bike Course & Riding Class: The Youth Bike course is a drop-in road safety practice course open from 11am - 12:30 pm. The Parents & Kids Riding Class will begin promptly at 1pm and will be an hour long. A limited number of children's bikes and helmets are available to borrow; however, participants are encouraged to bring their own. Parents must sign a waiver for their children and all participants must wear helmets. 
  • Balance bike races: Begin promptly at 11:30am. Participants are welcome to bring their own bikes or borrow bikes from The Daily Rider. Depending on the number of participants, we may separate the race participants into groups based on age. 
  • Swap & Sell: Equipment so far includes an iBert front seat and Xtracycle Free Radical, with more coming. All negotiations & purchases are at your own risk. If you're interested in being a Swap & Sell vendor, click here to sign up
  • Fiets of Parenthood: Thanks to the staff at BicycleSPACE, this year's ABC's of Family Biking includes an obstacle course where interested families can road-test cargo bikes and experienced cyclists can compete in the East Coast's first-ever "Fiets of Parenthood" family biking race. The Fiets of Parenthood race will run on a drop-in basis: competitors will each race individually against the clock, with scores tallied and the winner announced at 1:00pm. Bring your kids: more children = more points in the final tally! 

For more information about The ABC's of Family Biking and Kidical Mass DC, e-mail Megan Odett, organizer, at KidicalMassDC AT gmail DOT com.

To get the latest news about ABC's of Family Biking and other Kidical Mass DC rides and events, fill out this form to join our e-mail list:

Get notices of rides & events

* indicates required