2016_spring

Youth Biking Program Isn’t

Just About Two-Wheeling

Cadence Youth Cycling (CYC) is a per-

fect example of the multifaceted goals of

the Circuit Trails. Hosted by the Bicycle

Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, CYC

engages disadvantaged urban youth through

cycling. The program offers opportunities

for leadership and civic engagement not

readily available to the students elsewhere.

Young participants are encouraged to talk

to local officials about the viability of the

Circuit Trails, which helps generate sup-

port for the trail network while helping the

youth build community advocacy skills.

The program’s engagement of young

people “goes well beyond the bicycle.

Everything on the bike translates to every

aspect of their lives,” says CYC Program

Manager Cy Maramangalam. “It’s an

avenue that connects our students to areas

they’ve never been [to].” This includes

an outing to the Amish farmland in

Pennsylvania for a brief respite from urban

living; a trip to Washington, D.C., to speak

to senators; and travel to Seattle for the

Youth Bike Summit.

Cadence Youth Cycling also has worked

closely with RTC through several partner-

ship programs: Cycle Squad, Circuit team

and All-Star team. RTC helps CYC with its

youth education and stewardship training

programs on waterways.

Maramangalam says, “RTC has been

pivotal in providing watershed education to

our youth.” A scavenger hunt highlighting

how the water interacts with the trails helps

to round out their education.

Sixteen-year-old Tamia Santiago dis-

covered her love of cycling two years ago

through CYC, and she has been pedaling

toward success ever since.

“Every opportunity she

gets, she’ll jump right into

it,” says Maramangalam,

adding that she became

a member of the All-Star

team in her first season with

CYC and has embraced

every other program since.

As a result of her

perseverance, Santiago

was named to CYC’s Youth Advisory

Committee, the voice for the group, and

the Philadelphia Bicycle Advocacy Board,

which seeks to advise the mayor on ways to

promote and protect recreational and pro-

fessional cycling in Philadelphia.

Eighteen-year-old Allen Williams is a

Philadelphia native who stepped outside of

the city for the first time only after joining

CYC. For the past four years, he has been

a pivotal participant in the Youth Advisory

Committee. He’s now a senior in high

school with a perfect 4.0 GPA. He plans to

study biomedical engineering in college and

become a doctor. Along with Santiago and

others, Williams had the opportunity to

meet with the former Philadelphia mayor,

Michael Nutter, last summer to discuss the

CYC program and advocate for its comple-

tion. Nutter has been an ardent supporter

of the Circuit Trails since its inception.

In addition to supporting CYC, RTC

helps lead several Circuit Trails initiatives

to improve health, engage youth, promote

the Circuit Trails and study the network’s

impact. The health initiative has made

great strides within the region’s health care

community and specifically through the

Hospital & Healthsystem Association of

Pennsylvania, which included the trail

network in its recent Community Health

Needs Assessment.

RTC also collaborates with several

youth-based organizations to engage youth

in the Circuit Trails, including Simple

Cycle, a nonprofit community-powered

bike shop and faith-based organization in

Philadelphia. Another is Neighborhood

Bike Works, which since 1996 has been

using bicycling programs to provide edu-

cational, recreational and career-building

opportunities for urban youth in under-

served Philadelphia neighborhoods. Both

implement youth cycling programs.

As the Circuit Trails network contin-

ues to grow and reach more people and

places, public outreach grows in tandem.

The ongoing success of the network

depends on these initiatives. From Kidical

Mass Philadelphia, a movement seek-

ing to promote family-friendly bike rides,

to the Women Bike PHL, a grassroots

effort of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater

Philadelphia aimed at building community

and getting women out to bike, these pro-

grams combine with the Circuit Trails to

enhance lives in the Greater Philadelphia

area, both now and going forward.

Heather Mistretta is a Spring Lake Heights,

New Jersey-based professional writer, and

co-founder and president of Women & Girls

Education-International. She loves being active

outdoors and tackling new challenges. Learn

more about Mistretta at

pressingreleases.com

CY MARAMANGALAM

LAURA PEDRICK/AP IMAGES

Cadence

Youth Cycling

program race

Manayunk

Canal

Towpath in

Philadelphia

rails

trails

spring/summer.16