One of my goals for this summer was to get my son Lucas riding a bike. I know many 5 year olds out there who have been riding a bike without training wheels for a while now, but we are little late to the game. Lucas never had a balance bike, instead he had a tricycle that never really interested him. So, when I sat down to look at camps for this summer I immediately thought of signing him up for a bike camp with Pedalheads. 

Pedalheads offers bike camps in a number of locations across Ottawa for kids ages 3-12. There are full day camps or half day camps. For Lucas, I chose to try the half-day morning camp. Pedalheads offers eight different instructional biking levels with everything from balance bike camp for little ones to mountain biking programs for older children. I signed Lucas up for the Newbees Level One program.

The first thing that happens when you arrive at a Pedalheads camp is the helmet check. An instructor will ensure your kid’s helmet fits them perfectly, and is safe to go from there. After helmet check, Lucas was introduced to his instructor Rebecca, who was incredibly welcoming and friendly. I also really liked that there was a camp director in charge of the whole bike camp site. They were there to make sure everything was running smoothly and answer any questions parents might have.

It was the hottest week for an outdoor camp (the first week of July here in Ottawa), but instructors did a great job trying to keep kids cool by taking lots of breaks and providing fun activities like a water day with a bike wash station.  Campers got a chance to re-energize by spending some time off their bikes during each session to learn about bike safety, rules of the road, and bike maintenance.

I wasn’t sure how bike camp was going to go for Lucas. He is very hard on himself when he struggles with learning something new, and he can get very negative and frustrated. However, when I picked him up from his first day he was eager to show me how well he could navigate the cones and accelerate on his bike (with training wheels). We were off to a great start – he had loved it.

Halfway through the week the instructors took the training wheels off all of the kids’ bikes in Luke’s camp. I knew Lucas was nervous about this. He felt so confident on his training wheels, he didn’t want to go back to the beginning. But his instructor was so wonderful at keeping his positivity up and not letting him get frustrated, and when I went to pick him up it was nothing but smiles and pride in what he had learned.

On the final day of camp parents were invited to come and watch a bike parade during the last half hour. It was super cute watching the campers climb on their decorated bikes and circle around the yard. There were five kids in Luke’s group, all had begun the week on training wheels and all of them finished the week with their training wheels off. Most of the kids still needed a guiding hand from an instructor (Lucas included), but it was evident to see how much improvement and confidence building had gone on over the week.

Lucas loved his first Pedalheads camp and upon finishing he immediately asked that I sign him up for a second week. So, next summer I will definitely be signing Lucas up again for another Pedalheads bike camp, and his little sister Rowan too. To find a Pedalheads bike camp in your area, visit their website HERE.