Celebrate Bike Month with the YMCA!
May 8, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
Guest post from Chad Johnson – the St. Cloud Area YMCA’s Health and Wellness Director, personal trainer and a Lifestyle Coach for the I CAN Prevent Diabetes program.
Biking can save you money, improve your health and save the environment all at the same time! However… there are a few things we all need to keep in mind before we go biking around town.
Did you know…..by Minnesota law, bicycles are defined as vehicles, so bicyclists must follow the same laws as motorists?! Many organization locally and around the country are promoting bike awareness and safety - this is in part due to the warm weather upon us and May is National Bike Month. Understanding the laws are critical – without this knowledge, biking can be dangerous for you, your family, and everyone else on the road.
I remember growing up in my neighborhood and biking all over the place. Down the sidewalk, up alleyways, down the middle of the street, really any where I wanted to go. This is something you can still see if you look out your window on a bright sunny day! Which is fantastic because we need more kids out and active! However, most people aren’t aware that no person shall ride a bicycle upon a sidewalk within a business district unless permitted by local authorities. Also, local authorities may prohibit the operation of bicycles on any sidewalk or crosswalk under their jurisdiction. More MN laws like the ones above can be found here. It is important that we all know the laws when biking because it will keep us safe.
One way our community is coming together more to promote biking is through the Bernick’s Family Fitness Series! This series is presented by the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA in conjunction with the St. Cloud Times and 104.7 KCLD. We are able to promote biking through our next event, the Wells Fargo River Ride Bike Event – a BLEND Fit Kids Club Series endorsed event!!!!!
This event is taking place at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA on May 19th. The 10 mile ride throughout the city will start at 8:00am, and the 3 mile bike parade will start at 9:30am. Before the ride, be sure your bike is properly tuned up for safety. The team from Revolution Cycle and Ski as well as Fitzharris Ski and Sport will be out at the event providing free tune ups! We will also have a ton of information about bike safety provided by Mn/Dot, as well as, Helmet fittings by the St. Cloud Hospital Trauma Center! It is required that all participants wear a helmet and follow all street laws while biking. A limited supply of helmets will be available for purchase.
This is an event you do not want to miss! So, get out and support our biking community by registering here today! We want you and our community to understand that biking can be something done on a daily basis.
Also…we will be giving 2 bikes away to a couple of lucky participants! And, BLEND will be giving hula hoops away to the first 200 kids!
Click here to learn more about the Bernick’s Family Fitness Series!
Keep a look out for upcoming series events!
• Anderson Trucking Service, Inc. Family Field Day, August 11th, 2012
• Health Partners Wishbone Walk/Run, Thanksgiving Day, 2012
Hope to see all of you out there supporting our community’s health!
Thank you and good luck!
Chad Johnson
Health and Wellness Director
St. Cloud Area Family YMCA
chadj@scymca.org
Biking for a Healthier Community!
April 30, 2012 by KathyG · Leave a Comment
Guest post from Chad Johnson – the St. Cloud Area YMCA’s Health and Wellness Director, personal trainer and a Lifestyle Coach for the I CAN Prevent Diabetes program.
2011 River Ride Bike Event
Saturday morning, about 7:00am, just waking up for my morning coffee - I looked out the window at the busy streets below. I wished to see a street full of bikers, runners and walkers instead of cars and trucks…and, more cars and trucks! For a moment I imagined what it would be like in Minneapolis…St. Paul…or, Duluth where it’s an every day occurrence to see people walking, running and biking to go places. Oh how I wish this was our community and every community!
Don’t get me wrong, St. Cloud has made leaps and bounds in becoming a healthier city. I am very proud to represent Wellness at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA, and I will never give up on continuing the journey on helping my home town community!
One of the ways I am able to do this is through the Bernick’s Family Fitness Series. This series of events is presented by the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA in conjunction with the St. Cloud Times and 104.7 KCLD! Our goal with this series is to give families an opportunity to try fun, seasonal, family-friendly events that all ages can enjoy.
Coming up on May 19th, the Wells Fargo River Ride Bike Event (formerly the BLEND Bike Parade) will take place at the St. Cloud Area Family YMCA! This community event combines the River Ride Bike Parade and the Mayor’s Bike Ride in one giant Bike Celebration!
St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis enjoying the 2011 River Ride Bike Parade
This event is designed to get families out and active while educating everyone on bike safety and how to commute through the city. There will be a 10 mile ride and a 3 mile bike parade! What I am most proud of with this event is that the route will mainly take place on designated bike routes through the city. This is such a vital piece to the event because we want this community to understand that biking can be something done on a daily basis. It will improve your health while saving gas money at the same time!
It is required that all participants wear a helmet and follow all street laws while biking.
Click here to learn more about the Bernick’s Family Fitness Series!
Click here to register for this event!
Keep a look out for upcoming Bernick’s Family Fitness series events!
• Anderson Trucking Service, Inc. Family Field Day, August 11th, 2012
• Health Partners Wishbone Walk/Run, Thanksgiving Day, 2012
The Wells Fargo River Bike Event and Anderson Trucking Service, Inc. Family Field Day are part of the BLEND Fit Kids Club Series! The BLEND Fit Kids Club Series awards prizes to kids (14 years and younger) for getting active and participating in area fitness events!
Hope to see all of you out there supporting our community’s health!
Thank you and good luck!
Chad Johnson
Health and Wellness Director
St. Cloud Area Family YMCA
chadj@scymca.org
Safe Kids- Safe Routes to School
December 19, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
If you’ve heard of Safe Routes to School, but not sure of what it is exactly, BLEND is excited to share this information with you in hopes we can all work together to heighten awareness and keep kids safe.
Safe Routes to School is a federally funded program, which provides States the opportunity to award communities with funding to improve conditions so children are able to walk and bile to school. Safe Routes to School focuses on making bicycling and walking to school safer and facilitates projects to improve health and safety.
Why BLEND Supports Safe Routes to School?
The primary goals of Safe Routes to School encourage healthy and active lifestyles of all ages and abilities, as well as heightening safety and well-being of our youngest community members. Physical activity and community engagement are two (of our four) main goals of the BLEND coalition. By our dedicated activism and support of Safe Routes to School, BLEND moves closer to our goal of making a significant impact on childhood obesity.
How It Impacts You?
As we encourage healthy, active lifestyles we must work to ensure children have safe, easy access in and around our communities. Communities around Minnesota are already using the $800 million allocated towards the Safe Routes to School program. Together with your help, we will continue to advocate for Safe Routes to School allocation of funding, activities, and projects in Central Minnesota. You will fell the direct impact of the increased bike lanes, pathways, and sidewalks available for your family. We’re pleased to tell you that thanks to Safe Routes to School, bicycle and pedestrian collision rates for children have decreased by 49 percent!
How Can You Help?
Sign up for our newsletter (at right) and we’ll include you on breaking news and action items where and wen your help is needed most. Post your questions here on the blog, on our Facebook page, or email us. The information contained in this blog post is on a printable .pdf, that you can print, display, and handout to others to help spread the word.
photo credit: SLO County Bicycle Coalition
