Hi,
     I do several sprint and Olympic triathlons per year, as an age group finisher,
aside from recreational cycling and commuting. I can say that if you do get
children interested in the sport,  I wouldn't worry about the type of bicycle
they'll be riding (yet). At that level as novice competitors, a mountain bike or
maybe a youth-sized steel road bike is more than adequate. I'd be more
concerned it fights right and is mechanically sound.

I've got some other questions about the USAT's youth programming ideas:
1) What age group are you trying to work with?

2) How many triathlons might the students do per year, as the triathlon season
is sort of opposite the school year?

3) Are you targeting a specific population to broaden appeal of the
sport (urban and racially diverse?)

4) How willing is USAT to work within individual bike coops' missions?
Some co-ops already have youth Earn-A-Bike programs in place
and can function limitedly as charities.

Best,
Leslie Peteya
Durham Bike Co-op





On Sat, Oct 9, 2010 at 11:16 PM, james bledsoe <jamesbleds0e@yahoo.com> wrote:
hi, where are you?
there might be a "bike kitchen"
around the corner from you
many times  open shops will support
direct involvement with hands on projects.

--- On Thu, 10/7/10, Jonathan Morrison <jonathan.morrison@gmail.com> wrote:

From: Jonathan Morrison <jonathan.morrison@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: [TheThinkTank] Question
To: "The Think Tank" <thethinktank@bikecollectives.org>
Date: Thursday, October 7, 2010, 9:23 PM

I might suggest looking into the safe routes to school program for
education funding, tri would have to be secondary, but you could work
it in there and have money to buy educational bike fleets.

In my experience used bikes suitable for tri in kids sizes are not
common, if not rare.  So at least in SLC, we couldn't supply bikes
even if we wanted to.

-jonathan morrison

On Thursday, October 7, 2010, Tara <windshifts@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi,
> I work at a National Governing Body, USA Triathlon, and I am working on youth programming.  As of right now the program is an awareness program.  The thought is to bring a coach into schools to introduce triathlon to the kids.
>
> A next step, down the road, would be to bring a multisport curriculum into the Physical Education programs.  One major hurdle to this would be equipment.
> Now my question to the listserv- would bike co-ops be interested in being involved in such a program by way of donating bicycles and hosting a cycling safety educational component?
>
> I'd appreciate any thoughts on the subject.
> Thanks!
> Tara McCarthy
>
>

--
Sincerely,

Jonathan Morrison
Executive Director
Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective
2312 S. West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
w: 801-328-2453
c: 801-688-0183
f: 801-466-3856
www.slcbikecollective.org

The mission of the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective is to promote
cycling as an effective and sustainable form of transportation and as
a cornerstone of a cleaner, healthier, and safer society. The Bicycle
Collective provides refurbished bicycles and educational programs to
the community, focusing on children and lower income households.
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