Learning to ride a bike provides a child with a rewarding self-guided activity, a feeling of accomplishment that boosts self esteem and shows that anything is possible if you work at it. We already wrote about how to chose your child‘s first bike. However on Earth there are many children who are less fortunate.
Physical activity is important
Cycling as a physical activity which plays a key role in a child’s healthy transition to early adulthood and beyond. Bike riding provides a child with an enjoyable form of physical fitness that not only helps develop motor skills, but when they ride with others, much needed social skills as well.
Photo: Pinkbike.com (Adam Marsal) – Share the Ride
Share the Ride by Pinkbike
Cycling website Pinkbike and Trailforks database created the ‘Share the Ride Foundation’ in order to raise funds to buy disadvantaged children around the world brand new bicycles. This year they aimed to raise $30,000 in contributions, but with help of Pinkbike.com readers they raised $46,328!
Photo: Pinkbike.com (Adam Marsal) – Share the Ride
European rider and Pinkbike’s associate Richard Gasperotti was amazed by the idea of the Share the Ride project and has decided to realize a similar help in the Czech republic in Central Europe, where he lives. Together with popular television presenter from the Czech TV channel Prima Tomas Hauptvogel and supported by Pinkbike.com he arranged a delivery of 18 brand new Specialized Hotrock bikes and helmets to the kids living in the Czech orphanages.
Pure happiness
In the Czech republic there are almost 150 residential institutions devoted to the care of orphans – children whose biological parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them. Gaspi and Tomas wrote a letter to all of the orphanages to find out, where the bikes would be most welcomed. After a long survey Gaspi and Tomas selected three of orphanages in three different towns Unhost, Vysoka Pec and Pardubice.
Photos: Pinkbike.com (Adam Marsal) – Share the Ride
You can see the happy faces of the gifted children! They didn’t hesitate for a second. They sat on the bikes and started to ride immediately outside on the playground and even inside in the dining room! Hopefully some of them will become real mountain biking enthusiasts and possible professional riders in the future? Even if not the bikes will definitively be bringging more joy and happiness to their lives. Gaspi, Tomas and the whole crew including Lukas (production), Martin (cameraman) and Adam (photographer) would like to thank everyone involved: Pinkbike.com and Specialized Europe for making their days better.
What was your first bike when you were young? This month we prepared a video about history of first bikes. Don‘t forget to watch it!
watch my first bike video
