Become a Girls in Gear Coach

Girls in Gear (GIG) is a girls-specific, bicycling program designed to teach life skills through bike skills to help riders build confidence and self-reliance on and off their bikes. We believe in inclusive, mentorship-based bike programming as an extraordinary tool for change in ourselves and our communities. We use bikes as a conduit for lessons on strength, resilience, kindness, and empathy.

GIG is designed to engage girls in areas that are typically more male-dominated:

  • Basic bicycle safety
  • Basic bicycle mechanics
  • Nutrition education
  • Community urban design
  • Public speaking

Engaging adolescent girls between the ages of 9 – 15 in these kinds of experiences has a strong and positive influence on their adult lives. The goal is to engage and inspire these young girls, break down barriers so that more girls can choose traditionally male-dominated fields of study including: engineering, city and regional planning and mechanics.

Girls in Gear aims to provide young girls in this crucial age-range motivation for physical exercise through bike riding and simple, fun nutrition education so girls can begin a pattern of healthy decision making that will continue throughout their lives.

Girls In Gears believe in building skills which assist in gaining the confidence to fix other mechanical things, become independent and more likely to explore outside of their neighborhoods; and, most importantly, learn that a bike is a reliable mode of transportation, providing them access to a wider variety of opportunities.

Key Information

  • Each session is approximately two hours long.
  • Workbooks are provided and pages are referenced throughout the lesson guide chronologically, and are organized by sections as a helpful tool while instructing.
  • Join us for a volunteer informational session on Saturday, April 15, 2023 from 10 am – 1 pm. that will be hosted by Diana Hildebrand at 16008 Waterloo Rd., Cleveland OH 44110.
  • Interested? Fill out the Volunteer Coach registration form here.  Upon registering you will also be requested to fill out a background check since you will be working with youth.  Questions please contact Diana Hildebrand at diana@bikecleveland.org.
  • All volunteers much register and submit a background check prior to leading a GIG ride or program.
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