A new bike track at Henderson North Primary School will give hundreds of children the opportunity to learn to ride a bike.

The new track is part of a wider initiative led by the Bikes in Schools Trust, which assists schools to secure funding for tracks and a fleet of bikes.  As part of the package of installing a Bikes in Schools Track, Auckland Transport funds Sport Waitākere to deliver the professional development for teachers, with the training based on the Bike Ready programme. 

Teachers can then teach the children to ride at school, ensuring they understand how to keep themselves safe when riding outside the school environment. The training includes fitting your helmet correctly, bike maintenance, getting on and off your bike, riding in straight lines, braking, weaving through cones and some creative games that have been developed to help engage the students. 

Sport Waitākere Young People Advisor, Pauline Butt, says riding a bike is not a given these days and many children have never learnt how to ride.

“Back in the 1990s primary school children biked an average of 28 minutes per week.  Sadly, now this is down to just five minutes a week with many children not riding a bike at all. This is likely due to a number of factors including time, money and competing commitments,” says Pauline.

“We want to not only see more kids enjoy the fun and health benefits of riding a bike but we also want to encourage families to make the most of this new community facility and get out biking together.”

Pauline says there are a great variety of tracks that can be built from simple pathways to more complicated and challenging tracks offering something for every level of skill and excitement. 

“The pump track is similar to a small BMX track and children just love the adrenalin rush. The ‘bike skills track’ takes the rider over a series of obstacles and requires the rider to concentrate and ride very slowly. It is particularly good for improving hand-eye coordination.  For some schools, there is also the option of bush tracks which takes them into the great outdoors.”

Sport Waitākere has also assisted with opening bike tracks to the community at Konini Primary, Henderson Valley Primary, Oratia District School, Edmonton School and Fruitvale School.

Article added: Wednesday 11 March 2020