Families can learn and practice bike safety this weekend

Last month, we asked, what will get more families biking? We got lots of great suggestions. For families who want to get biking, an event this Sunday on Capitol Hill provides a great start.

Kidical Mass DC, DDOT’s Safe Routes to School Program and the Washington Area Bicyclist Association will put on ABCs of Family Biking. This free event is designed for families to learn and practice safe biking skills, discover and try family biking equipment, learn how to repair bikes, and connect with other families around biking.

The event is Sunday, April 28, 11 am-1 pm at Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan, 215 G Street, NE.

While this is targeted at families who bike or want to bike, I imagine this can also be an opportunity for drivers to also learn the cyclist’s perspective in facing challenges on the road. In particular, it can serve as an opportunity to develop a bit of empathy for cyclists trying to keep their children safe while doing mundane things like getting them to school.

The program will include:

• a show-and-tell by current bicycling parents (that’s you!) to share the tips, tricks and tools that enable them to bicycle with their children
• a special class on creating and organizing “biketrains” to help children bike to and from school in supervised groups
• exhibits by local bike shops and dealers demonstrating the range of tools and equipment available for family biking.

As a bonus, this year, there will be a free bike swap (we’ll say goodbye to my son’s old bike) and a puppet show. If you already bicycle with children, the organizers are looking for people to show their own bike equipment of different types at the show-and-tell, as well as volunteers to help run the event. I hope to see many fellow Washingtonians there!