Emily Wissell recalls how she rode her bike around her Lynn Valley neighbourhood as a kid.
She remembers the wind whipping through her helmet and a sense of freedom.
Although she was an avid biker as a kid and into her 20s, Wissell admits she was not too fond of hard-core mountain biking and was a little nervous having to navigate jumps and steep downhills.
These days, Wissell prefers low-key, recreational riding with her two-year-old daughter in tow, but she hasn’t lost her love of biking.
As owner of Escape Adventures in North Vancouver, Wissell is busy from spring to fall with a variety of bike riding programs for kids. Escape Adventures offers a wide range of programs to suit a wide range of ability, from beginner and up. Wissell describes it as a “large menu” of camps.
“I just want to make sure everyone has a place where they fit in,” she explains.
The “menu” starts with the Mini Rippers program in which campers work up to taking off their training wheels and learning to ride on two wheels, and ends with Extreme Riders (beginner to intermediate). They even have something called “Alien Adventures.”
Although there are programs for advanced riders, Wissell notes that, like her, not every kid who enjoys bike riding wants to roll along skinny obstacles or down steep trails.
“I hear ya, you don’t have to do that,” she says, noting there are programs for kids who just want to stay on a flat trail and enjoy the ride.
Along with a variety of bike camps, there are also Adventure camps, which include a program called Survive the Shore. Campers in this program participate in biking, bike mechanics, shelter building, ball sports, and compass games. Teamwork is also emphasized.
At the start of each week-long camp, participants are assessed for their riding ability. There is also a description online to help guide parents to the right course, and Wissell recommends that if parents aren’t sure what level their child is at, it’s better to enroll them in a lower level. That way, if the child is assessed at a higher level on the first day, he or she can move up rather than being asked to move down a level.
The website also offers a bike checklist for parents to ensure their child’s bike is ready for camp. Some rentals are also available through the camp.
“I think it’s a good way to be introduced to biking,” says Wissell of the bike and adventure camps.
Since many of the camps repeat runs on the same trails throughout the week, Wissell says it’s an opportunity for kids to gain confidence. While some kids might find a particular trail ride difficult the first time they do it, Wissell says when they ride it a second and third time they are more familiar with it and become more confident in their riding. She notes that the camps contain a mixture of skill-building and fun.
“My goal isn’t to create the next pro rider. It’s just to get kids outside and being active,” she says.
For more information visit the website at escapeadventures.ca.
This story originally appeared in a special section of the North Shore News focused on local summer camps.
