Transforming lives, communities, and landscapes through cycling

At Trips for Kids Charlotte, we are dedicated to building a strong, inclusive community by offering empowering youth programming that uses cycling as a tool for growth and connection. Through our work, we create safe spaces where young people can explore their potential, develop new skills, and engage with the world around them.

At the heart of our mission is The Re-Cyclery, our community bike shop, which plays a vital role in supporting both our youth programs and the local community. The Re-Cyclery not only provides valuable hands-on learning experiences for the community but also serves as a gathering place where community members can come together to share resources, knowledge, and a passion for sustainable transportation.

By embracing the principles of community care and supporting a circular economy, we give new life to bicycles and reduce waste, while advancing a car-free future for all. Our goal is to inspire a generation of environmentally-conscious individuals who are connected to their communities, their health, and the planet.

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Current Programs

Our Current Programs

Ride program

Ages 9 - 16

The Youth Ride Program offers guided mountain bike rides every other Saturday from March to October, helping youth connect with nature and peers. Bikes and helmets are provided for those without equipment.

Ride Program

The Youth Ride Program invites youth to engage with nature, explore new skills, and connect with peers during guided mountain bike and greenway rides. Rides are every other Saturday from March to October, at various local trails and greenways. No bike? No problem! We’re happy to provide the bikes and helmets for youth to participate.

free bike repair

All Ages

Free Bike Repair (FBR) is a mobile service that provides safety checks, repairs, and maintenance education in underserved neighborhoods, ensuring access to safe riding at no cost.

Free Bike Repair

Free Bike Repair (FBR) is a mobile program that directly addresses resource disparities in historically marginalized and underinvested neighborhoods. Through safety checks, maintenance education, and zero cost safety repairs, this program helps give participants critical access to the mechanical resources needed for safe riding.

Earn-a-bike

Ages 9 - 16

The Youth Earn-a-Bike program teaches bike safety, handling, and maintenance, helping participants develop skills and teamwork. Graduates receive a bike, helmet, light set, and lock to keep.

earn-a-bike

Our Youth Earn-a-Bike program helps young people earn their own bicycles through hands-on learning, promoting skill development, teamwork, and a path to a healthy, independent active lifestyle. During this program, participants learn bike safety, basic handling skills, and how to properly care for their bikes. At the end of the program, EAB graduates receive their own bicycle, helmet, light set, and lock to take home.

E-Bike Program

Adults

The Pilot E-Bike Program provides e-bikes, safety training, and ownership education to residents in DreamKey Partners' housing programs, improving mobility and access to jobs in the N. Graham / N. Tryon Corridor.

E-Bike Program

The Pilot E-Bike Program reduces barriers of access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable transportation through the distribution of 200 e-bikes, safety training, and e-bike ownership education to participants in DreamKey Partners’ housing assistance programs. Together with the City of Charlotte and DreamKey Partners, this 3 year pilot program supports the revitalization of historically underinvested neighborhoods by improving mobility throughout the N.Graham / N.Tryon Corridor, increasing critical access to jobs, opportunities, and resources.

Our Current Classes

Current Classes

Impact Numbers

Our Impact 2023

483 Youth participants in the Ride Program season

98 Youth Earn-A-Bike
Graduates

28 Adult Earn-A-Bike
Graduates

2,076

Bikes processed in education and community support programs

3,500+

Donated and discarded bikes diverted from the landfill

1,117

Bikes refurbished and recirculated back into the community

Community Partners

Thank you to our incredible community partners for your unwavering support and collaboration, which make all our shared successes possible.

TARHEEL TRAILBLAZERS

The Tarheel Trailblazers are dedicated to creating, maintaining, and protecting mountain bike trails and bike parks across the Metro Charlotte region, enhancing quality of life for all. Since 1990, the club has developed over 175 miles of sustainable trails, working closely with local land managers and serving as the advocacy group for mountain bikers and trail users, supported by members and donations.

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CLT BIKE CAMP

CLT Bike Camp believes every child deserves the freedom to ride a bike and learn the skills, safety, and responsibility needed to be confident, responsible city riders. Their sliding-scale, tuition-based program ensures that all children, regardless of background, have access to bike education and the opportunity to explore their city, fostering independence, awareness, and healthy lifestyles.

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learn to ride clt

Learn to Ride is a free, volunteer-run event that helps kids and adults of all ages learn to ride a bike using the proven "balance bike" method. In partnership with Bicycle Sport, Trips for Kids Charlotte, and local organizations, we offer a supportive, fun environment where participants can practice bike skills and grow Charlotte's cycling community, with bikes and helmets available for those in need.

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community supporters

Our Board

The board of Trips for Kids is a dedicated group of individuals committed to expanding access to cycling for community members of all ages. Through their leadership, Trips for Kids continues to offer educational initiatives, guided rides, and bike-building workshops, ensuring that more people can enjoy the physical and social benefits of cycling, regardless of background or experience.

Board

Corwin A. Thomas

I joined TFKC shortly after moving to Charlotte in 2016. I researched dozens of organizations that aligned to my goals/mission and reached out to TFKC. I met with the then Executive Director, Paula Fricke. After a few short interviews I was elected to the board. TFKC is important to me because I enjoy cycling and how TFKC touches surrounding communities, creates community, and positively impacts all ages that cycle.

Matt Packey

I first got involved with Trips for Kids Charlotte when I saw this great group of kids riding the trails that I normally ride and I stopped to ask about them and immediately got pulled in. The program is so much more than riding the trails with the kids (which frankly would have been good enough for me to get involved) and I enjoy seeing them learn, mature and grow into young adults.

Mari McNeary

I started working full time in a bicycle shop when I moved to Charlotte from SC in 2020. I love seeing people realize that Charlotte is a welcoming city for biking and walking. I started in the industry by volunteering at the Village Wrench, another non-profit community-driven bicycle shop in Greenville, SC. I loved being able to help the needs of people who walked in and then could ride out. We world with adults and children to Earn-A-Bike and they'd be able to go around the community much more easily. I wish I'd found Trips-for-Kids earlier in my time in Charlotte, I started volunteering at Earn-A-Bike programs in 2021. I'm grateful to be in a position now to be able to donate more of my time and share the experience I've gained in the bicycle community here. My current position is heavily reliant on getting people on new bikes, but I have a deep passion for breathing new life into bikes that have already been loved. What a joy to be able to share that with others!

Alex Riemondy

Alex first got involved with Trips for Kids in Florida in 2011. After completing a cross-country bicycle trip, she was inspired to find ways to get more people on bikes and create bike-friendly communities. Working directly with kids and helping them to experience the freedom and lifelong empowerment of moving through the world on two wheels seemed like a simple and impactful way to create change. She was excited to learn about Trips for Kids and volunteer with an organization whose mission was so closely aligned with her passions. Alex has had the opportunity to make cycling a part of her everyday life from working as a transportation planner, to teaching safe cycling, to even helping build mountain bike trails on the weekends. When she’s not riding bikes, she enjoys traveling and exploring new places with her husband Craig

Dick Winters

A life-long passion fully awakened about 15 years ago when Dick Winters learned there was a growing cycling community in Charlotte, NC. Dick got involved in just about anything that promoted bicycling, especially on Charlotte’s streets. He started volunteering with Trips for Kids Charlotte and continues to be involved with them today.

Bethanie johnson

I have three passions, working with children, writing and cycling. I’ve worked as a teaching assistant in CMS for the past seventeen years. Before that I was a preschool teacher for three years. Altogether I have 20 years of experience working with children and youth. Five years ago, Charlotte Cadieux and I started CLT Bike Camp, which is a program that combines two of my passions and has been pretty successful, as well as fun. Over the years I’ve worked as an Earn a Bike teacher for Trips For Kids. I’ve volunteered a little in the shop and warehouse over time and have really come to love The Recyclery, both for the people who work their and for the community it supports.

Ben malmquist

Ben has been with TFKC since 2008. He is a lifelong cyclist who started wrenching on his own bikes eventually parlaying that into a job at a bike shop. After more than a decade working in the cycling industry in various roles, Ben now spends his time repairing bikes and teaching the Bicycle Assembly and Repair class. He is also the resident Campagnolo enthusiast at TFKC. Ben loves riding bikes, naturally... Specifically riding a road bike fast and far into rural areas!

BOARD MEMBER

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Transforming lives, communities, and landscapes through cycling