Please join us at the Farmers Market on Saturday June 14, 2014, to help teach kids (and any adults who care to try) to learn how to bike.
We use a safe and effective method that teaches kids to balance on their bikes without pedals or training wheels. Then the pedals go back on and we review how to start and stop. No clutching the back of the seat! Children generally learn pretty quickly, though they may need more practice the next day or two. ?It works! We?ve already taught more than 100 kids. Watch the video from our first class!
To register or volunteer, please send us an email at wwbikeped@gmail.com. If you’re not already a member, we ask that you join us (at least at the $25 Adult level, please consider the $40 Family membership). We’re an all-volunteer private 501(c)3 organization, so your membership donation is tax deductible.
Do you have bikes you no longer need cluttering up your garage or basement? Bring them to West Windsor Farmers? Market (Vaughn Drive parking lot, off Alexander Road) between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Saturday, June 30 for the WWBPA?s bike drive to benefit the Boys and Girls Club of Trenton.
Bicycles of all sizes and condition are gratefully accepted, and donations are tax-deductible. Last year, we collected more than 50 bikes, and this year, we’ve already worked with the West Windsor Police Department to donate about 30 abandoned/confiscated bikes.
The bikes are refurbished by the volunteers of Bike Exchange and sold at their store in Ewing. Proceeds fund the Boys and Girls Club?s after-school programs. As of mid-June, this amazing group had already sold 937 bikes THIS YEAR and raised $27,000 for the Boys & Girls Club. (Watch this video about Bike Exchange and Boys & Girls Club.)
Bike Exchange also supports the WWBPA’s “learn to bike” classes by lending us a few bikes just in case a participant needs a slightly different size. Sometimes that makes all the difference!
If you miss the bike drive, several area bike shops serve as drop-off sites.
If you’re looking for a bike for your child that you know will be outgrown pretty quickly, this is a great place to consider. It’s also a great place to find authentic retro bikes, among other kinds, for adults. (It’s not a replacement for a bike shop, just a nice addition).
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Saturday’s Halloween parade at the Farmers Market was washed out by another unusual storm, this one featuring rain turning to sleet, then snow (that’s still on the ground!) and caused branches and trees to block roads all over town. But the WWBPA showed our Halloween spirit!
Thanks to everyone at the Farmers Market for another great year!
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The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance taught another 17 kids to bike without training wheels on Saturday by using a low-stress technique taught to us by Bike New York: take off the pedals and training wheels, lower the seat, learn to glide (and balance) and then put the pedals back on. It’s amazing to see how quickly some kids get it! And others just need a bit more time and encouragement. We think it helps that they see so many others doing the same thing.
Did you see us at the farmers’ market? Check out our photos to see what it’s all about.
Many thanks to all our volunteers! Want to join our crew next year?
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The West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance is very pleased to announce that the League of American Bicyclists proclaimed West Windsor Township a Bicycle Friendly Community, at the Bronze level.
This is the first time a New Jersey municipality received such an honor, the result of more than 10 years of effort on the part of many residents and with the support of the mayor, township council and county and state officials.
It could not have happened without the support of our members, who have demonstrated that they value a bicycle and pedestrian friendly community, both with their membership contributions and their time spent helping others to ride. As an all-volunteer organization, we appreciate our members’ willingness to help, whether it’s to write letters of support or to teach children to ride a bike for the first time.
This honor isn’t only for our officials and the WWBPA, but for all our community partners who help make bicycling happen. We especially thank BikeFest and our area bike clubs, who organize so many successful biking events, the SMART/JORBA volunteers, who maintain the off-road trails in Mercer County Park, and all the many individuals, organizations and businesses who have helped make West Windsor a better place for daily cycling, whether to work, school or the Farmers’ Market.
Finally, a special thanks to our intern, Kim Meersma, who worked with many people to gather the information necessary to put together a very detailed application.
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Join the WWBPA for its second annual walk to the West Windsor Farmers’ Market on opening day, May 7.
We’ll gather in the parking lot of Maurice Hawk Elementary School on Clarksville Road by 9:30 a.m. and take a leisurely walk of just over a mile to the market. We’ll stop at the GroWW Herb Sale at the Arts Center and see where some gaps in the sidewalk network will be filled, making it safer to walk between the Arts Center and the train station.
All participants get a WWBPA walking and biking map of West Windsor, and there will be some other goodies to win.
Bring your friends and chat away as you walk along. A group walk back to Hawk will be provided if desired.
Monthly meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the second Thursday of the month via Zoom due to Covid. We will eventually resume meeting in the West Windsor Municipal Building. Email us at wwbikeped@gmail.com if you would like the Zoom code.
Find us at the West Windsor Farmers Market (Vaughn Drive parking lot) from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. every other Saturday from May through Halloween.