The family that bikes together…

The City of Sonoma hosts a free Bicycling Family Workshop on Saturday, July 13, at the Sonoma Community Center. With experts from the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition class, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., offers parents and their children the opportunity to gain bicycling skills and confidence in a fun, safe, and supervised environment.

The first riding portion of the workshop takes place on blacktop, where adults and children receive instruction on safe cycling strategies and practice riding through drills and maneuvers.

The second portion of the workshop consists of a supervised 1-2 mile neighborhood bicycle ride, where family members receive real world experience riding with traffic, under the guidance of certified bicycling instructors. Each participant receives a free blinking light.

Parents and children must participate in the workshop together, and participating children must be able to ride the best single speed bike and be ready to drive on the road with their parents All participants must bring working bicycles and wear helmets. If you need a helmet, you may request a loaner, or purchase one for $8 at the workshop.

“On the neighborhood ride, parents and kids learn about things they may not learn from a manual, like where to best position themselves on roads of varying widths and traffic volumes, how to most safely make a left turn, and exactly how far away they should ride from parked cars,” says Tina Panza, Education and Safe Routes to School Director for the Sonoma County Bicycle Coalition. “Parents and kids also get guided skills & handling practice before the ride, which can help determine a child’s readiness for riding in groups and/or on their own.”

The City is sponsoring this class free to attendees.  Space is limited.  Online pre-registration is mandatory.

The class will be held at the Sonoma Community Center, located at 276 East Napa Street in Sonoma.