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Cyclists have been biking to and from their destinations this week as part of Bike to Work, School, Play Week, but not many of them had to earn their bike and sign a contract.
That’s what 12-year-old Tito Martinez had to do.
“It was hard to come here every day,” said Martinez, a member of the Bike Club, an organization geared toward at-risk youth.
Martinez earned his bike by showing up to the Bike Club meetings 10 times, said Jorge Orozco, who oversees the club.
Mauro Aguayo, 12, earned his bike at the same time as Martinez, and Armando Ramos, 13, earned his a week later.
Now all the boys ride their bikes to school and to their club meetings. They joined Orozco’s Bike to Work, School, Play team and are counting the miles they ride every day. As of Thursday, the Bike Club had logged 24 trips amounting to 75 miles.
Last year the week was called Bike to Work week, but event organizer Ty Polastri said organizers had reasons to change the name this year.
“The name change came about in response to the number of school children who chose to ride their bikes to school during last year’s event and the number of people who got caught up in the promotion and used their bikes to get around town,” Polastri said.
Out in front of South Tahoe Middle School, the bike racks have been full this week.
“There’s a lot more bikes than we usually see,” STMS secretary Judy Klingler said.
The increase could be because of Bike to Work, School, Play Week, and also because the weather has been nice, Klingler said.
A few of the participants in Bike to Work, School, Play Week are from the Bike Club. The club, which began in December, arose from the Police Athletic League and Youth Task Force — a group of community members and representatives of various organizations with the mission to provide safe, positive activities for South Shore youth.
All members must sign a pledge stating that they will attend school, accept tutoring if they need it, not break any laws, abstain from drugs and alcohol, work hard and call if they can’t make the weekly meetings.
Members sign a log to keep track of how many meetings they’ve attended.
So far the club has 17 registered members and about eight who attend regularly. Membership is open to students in middle school, and anyone 18 or older can volunteer.
Martinez said he likes participating in the club.
“I wanted to stay out of trouble,” Martinez said. “Between this and boxing, it keeps me pretty busy.”
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department donated about 30 bikes to the club, and three stands for the members to use while repairing the bikes. Bike Club members fixed the bikes with help from volunteers.
The club meets at the South Tahoe Middle School in Room 54, but to accommodate youth during the summer, the club will move to the Al Tahoe Learning Center since it’s a year-round facility, Orozco said.
But before riding their bikes, all members had to participate in bike safety training, which was run by Charles Nelson with the League of American Cyclists. That way the members could learn all the laws and proper bicycle conduct.
That’s what 12-year-old Tito Martinez had to do.
“It was hard to come here every day,” said Martinez, a member of the Bike Club, an organization geared toward at-risk youth.
Martinez earned his bike by showing up to the Bike Club meetings 10 times, said Jorge Orozco, who oversees the club.
Mauro Aguayo, 12, earned his bike at the same time as Martinez, and Armando Ramos, 13, earned his a week later.
Now all the boys ride their bikes to school and to their club meetings. They joined Orozco’s Bike to Work, School, Play team and are counting the miles they ride every day. As of Thursday, the Bike Club had logged 24 trips amounting to 75 miles.
Last year the week was called Bike to Work week, but event organizer Ty Polastri said organizers had reasons to change the name this year.
“The name change came about in response to the number of school children who chose to ride their bikes to school during last year’s event and the number of people who got caught up in the promotion and used their bikes to get around town,” Polastri said.
Out in front of South Tahoe Middle School, the bike racks have been full this week.
“There’s a lot more bikes than we usually see,” STMS secretary Judy Klingler said.
The increase could be because of Bike to Work, School, Play Week, and also because the weather has been nice, Klingler said.
A few of the participants in Bike to Work, School, Play Week are from the Bike Club. The club, which began in December, arose from the Police Athletic League and Youth Task Force — a group of community members and representatives of various organizations with the mission to provide safe, positive activities for South Shore youth.
All members must sign a pledge stating that they will attend school, accept tutoring if they need it, not break any laws, abstain from drugs and alcohol, work hard and call if they can’t make the weekly meetings.
Members sign a log to keep track of how many meetings they’ve attended.
So far the club has 17 registered members and about eight who attend regularly. Membership is open to students in middle school, and anyone 18 or older can volunteer.
Martinez said he likes participating in the club.
“I wanted to stay out of trouble,” Martinez said. “Between this and boxing, it keeps me pretty busy.”
The South Lake Tahoe Police Department donated about 30 bikes to the club, and three stands for the members to use while repairing the bikes. Bike Club members fixed the bikes with help from volunteers.
The club meets at the South Tahoe Middle School in Room 54, but to accommodate youth during the summer, the club will move to the Al Tahoe Learning Center since it’s a year-round facility, Orozco said.
But before riding their bikes, all members had to participate in bike safety training, which was run by Charles Nelson with the League of American Cyclists. That way the members could learn all the laws and proper bicycle conduct.
