Your support for the People for Parks Fund is helping a new generation of girls feel the freedom of cycling.

On a steamy summer night, nearly two dozen elementary school-aged girls showed up at the Longfellow Recreation Center to learn the “ABC’s” of cycling. 

Over the course of five weekly lessons and rides through the parks, the kids will discover that “A” is for checking the air in your tires, “B” is for making sure your brakes will stop the bike, and “C” is for making sure your chain is in the right place to drive power to your rear wheel. 

“It’s basic, but making sure they know how to check out their bikes before each ride, and get their helmet fitted properly, is a big part of learning about how to be safe on a bike and start having fun,” says Margaret Mercil, who heads up the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s cycling programs. The Girls Biking Adventure program running this month is designed to do just that, giving new cyclists, most between the ages of 7 and 10, the confidence they need to ride in groups and navigate parks, pathways and streets safely. 

The girls-focused program is also aimed at bridging the gender gap in biking. Worldwide, male cyclists have long outnumbered women nearly four to one. Here in the U.S., women spend about 45 percent less time cycling than men do, according to a recent study from the fitness platform Strava.  “That’s why this is a good sport to break up by gender,” Mercil says. “This program gives girls the chance to build some skills, meet some role models, and find out what’s possible for women in the field of biking.”

This summer, MPRB is offering the Girls Biking Adventure program at Longfellow, Linden Hills, and Audubon Recreation Centers thanks, in part, to a People for Parks Fund grant from the Minneapolis Parks Foundation. Through the program, girls will receive bike bells and other tools to keep their equipment in top form. Partners from the nonprofit Bike Alliance of Minnesota are also joining in, teaching girls basic bike maintenance skills like changing a tire, adjusting your brakes, and putting on a chain.

With each session, the girls also get the chance to see the parks in a new way, setting out on group rides that show them why Minneapolis is the country’s most bike-friendly city. “They’re going out for pretty big bike rides and learning things that parents typically don’t teach their kids about cycling,” says Mercil. “We do a little skill test before our first ride just to see where they’re at, and it’s wonderful how quickly they improve. You see a lot of big smiles because they’re proud of themselves, and they just can’t wait to get on their bikes the next time.”

To learn more about upcoming Girls Bike Adventure programs, visit minneapolisparks.org or contact Margaret Mercil, MPRB Recreation Program Lead, Intergenerational at MMercil@minneapolisparks.org or 612-590-8788.