Positive Spin is Bike Pittsburgh’s youth cycling and mentorship program, which teaches bike safety, civic engagement, basic maintenance and navigation skills. This year we launched a new Positive Spin program through a partnership with Action Housing. This program teaches these skills and also provides new bikes and accessories to young people aging out of foster services.

Positive Spin alumni-turned-instructor, Eric, wrote about his experience in the program:

If I need to go anywhere, I’m using my bike.

I don’t like to spend money on the bus pass, so being able to ride around town sounded great. Now, I use my bike to get to work and to hang out with friends. I don’t have to rely on the bus as my only form of transportation anymore.

I knew how to ride a bike before Positive Spin, but I didn’t know how to ride in the street safely with traffic. My time as a student in Positive Spin inspired me to become an instructor. It has been easy to teach because I knew the class at a more personal level. I love being a teacher. I want to keep my students safe.

Positive Spin is a good program…for real. There are some people in the program that didn’t know how to ride a bike at all, now they know how to ride a bike safely. This program really helped me exercise and also become more productive. Positive Spin made transportation more accessible to me and I am grateful for that.

Join me in giving back to BikePGH for introducing something to my life and yours, and making our city a better place to live and ride.

Sincerely,

       Eric Demus