EARN-A-BIKE PROGRAM
​In partnership with Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club

​2025 Program - Coming Soon!

The Earn-a-Bike program’s goals are to teach student participants basic bike maintenance, repairs and traffic safety skill maneuvers through hands-on demonstration. Upon completion of the program, students are awarded their bike, a bike lock, a pair of bike lights, and a helmet. The event has been held several times since 2017. Scroll through this page to see photos and reports of the program's successes!

C-U Safe Routes to School (SRTS) project is aiming to hold another Earn-a-Bike program in summer 2025. If you would like to donate towards the purchase of bikes and supplies, please click the button below. Donations are not tax deductible.

2022 Program - Monday, July 11 through Thursday, July 14

During the week of July 11, C-U SRTS hosted the four-day 2022 Earn-a-Bike Program with Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club in Champaign. We had a total of six students participate and had the privilege to teach them bicycle building, bike maintenance skills, and important traffic skill maneuvers. We concluded the program by going out for two fun rides on the U of I campus and in the community which featured delicious ice cream treats. All of the students who completed the program were able to take their bikes home and were awarded certificates. 

We would like to give special thanks to the staff at Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club, Champaign County Bikes, BR Bikes and Repairs, The Bike Project of Urbana-Champaign, MTD maintenance crew and planning staff, our LCIs, and all of our other C-U SRTS volunteers for making the program fun and a success!
2022 Program Report

2021 Program - Monday, August 2 through Thursday, August 5

Class 1 - Monday, August 2
  1. Assembling your bike:    
    1. Bicycle parts, types of bikes, and bike fitting
    2. Bike Maintenance - How to replace a tube, how to air up tires, how to clean and maintain your chain, how to adjust seat height, 
    3. Helmet Fitting - How to fit your helmet to your own or your friend's head
Class 2 - Tuesday, August 3
  1. ABC Quick Check – checking tire pressure, brakes, chain, crank, and quick releases before riding
  2. Helmet fitting - wearing a helmet is mandatory when on a bike
  3. Bicycle Safety – IL Bike Safety Quiz awards
    1. What causes people to crash while on their bicycles?
    2. Is the bike considered 'a vehicle' under the law? 
    3. Where should you ride your bike? 
    4. What are the rules of the road?
    5. What are the legal hand signals for bicyclists?
    6. How can I make sure cars see me if I am bicycling at night or in the winter?
    7. Where are the 'bus danger zones' or blind spots?
  4. Bike Rodeo - On-bike practice of scanning, signaling, turning and lane positioning at intersections 
Class 3 - Wednesday, August 4
  1. Ride Your Bike! - Practice your bicycle skills using on and off-road infrastructure as appropriate.
  2. Securing your bike - How to lock your bike so it isn’t stolen
  3. Class Bike Ride! - The class will take a bike ride from Crystal Lake Park and practice their on-bike skills using various neighborhood environments appropriate to their skill levels. 
Class 4 - Thursday, August 5
  1. Class Bike Ride! - The class took a longer bike ride to Kickapoo Rail Trail or St. Joseph for more practice. The ride included a drink and a treat.
​You can read and download the report of the 2021 program here.

2017 Program - Tuesday, July 11 to Thursday, July 13

Let’s Get Rolling Earn-a-Bike Program
Don Moyer’s Boys & Girls Club​
C-U Safe Routes to School partnered with Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club and launched a pilot Earn-A-Bike Program in July 2017. This was the first time the program was offered. The program offered a three-day curriculum (2 hours each day) covering rules of the road, basic bicycle maintenance, bike rodeo, and an on-street ride. Each student who had completed the courses and passed bicycle safety quiz received a new bike, a bike lock, and a helmet.
On November 2nd a bicycle maintenance workshop was conducted with students at the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club with Neutral Cycle. Two mechanics from Neutral Cycle brought bike stands and tools to assist students in doing basic repairs to bicycles. Some students from the summer Let’s Get Rolling program attended, one with his bike that had a broken seat. Altogether about 6 students participated. Every student had time to do hands-on tasks such as airing up tires, lubing chains, adjusting brakes, and tightening loose bike parts. The broken seat was replaced.
 
A future Kickcapoo Trail bike ride is being planned with students from the club to give them the opportunity to learn how to reach the trail and to enjoy the amenities and fun of trail riding. 

Day 1 - Bike Maintenance and Helmet Fitting

The first class was held at The Bike Project and led by Phil Graff. Students assisted with the assembly of their new bicycles and learned some basic bicycle maintenance skills. The class also included helmet fitting and discussion on the benefits of wearing a helmet.

Day 2 - Bike Safety and Bike Rodeo

The second class met at the Lake House at Crystal Lake Park. The Urbana Park District provided indoor space for instruction and closed the adjacent parking lot to be used to teach the needed bicycle safety skills in a bicycle rodeo. Students learned basic bicycle skills as outlined in the graphic below. Students also practiced using their skills on short rides through the park using the park district’s low speed roads.

Day 3 - On Street Ride

On the third day, the class met at the Lake House as the departure point for the on-street ride. All the students bicycled from Crystal Lake Park to southeast Urbana where a refreshment stop included a visit to Red Bicycle Ice Cream shop. The class then bicycled from SE Urbana through the U of I Campus and back to the Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club where each student was presented with a certificate of completion, their own bicycle, lock, helmet, and bike lights. 
​Let’s Get Rolling Earn-a-Bike Program is a cooperative effort of Champaign County Bikes, C-U SRTS Project, C-U Mass Transit District and Don Moyer Boys and Girls Club. It is made possible with financial support from Champaign County Bikes who raised funds purchasing 15 bikes to be used in this program. Thanks our six League Cycling Instructors assisted in the courses: Cynthia Hoyle, Kevin Garcia, Marcus Ricci, Jeff Yockey, and Phil Graff. Thanks our volunteers Ben LeRoy and Aaron Hoyle-Katz for offering additional assistance. 
​C-U Safe Routes to School Project
1101 East University Avenue
Urbana, IL 61802
​217-384-8188
[email protected]