---

During Saturday’s snowfall few gave thought to riding a bicycle, but at Second Life Bikes it was all students of Barack Obama Elementary School had on their mind.

“It’s not working,” fifth-grader Joey Nichols said as he tried to inflate the back tire of a tricycle destined for 2-year-old Cayla Rhine [below left], who had tried, to no avail, to pump air into the tire.

As a part of the Bangs Avenue school’s push to create bonding experiences for students and their parents, the used bike and repair Main Street store retooled their Earn A Bike program for the young crew.

“We feel like it’s how we survive,” owner Kerri Martin [above center] said of the program. “We have it easy because with kids and bikes – the word travels.”

Earn a Bike typically gives kids 12 to 18 a chance to work 15 hours in exchange for a bicycle of their own, which they then restore using the skills they’ve learned. But on Saturday the 12 and under students participated in a 3 ½ hour hands on tutorial on bicycle basics.

“We like the dynamic much better than just giving away something because there is that sense of ownership, of look what I’ve learned, look what I did, what I fixed,” said shop employee Travers Martin. “That’s a whole lot more fun. We think ideally they won’t leave a bicycle in the middle of the street when they’ve had to actually wipe it down and pump the tires up; when they’ve worked for us. Having that touchstone in the community is really important for us.”

Shop veteran Pete Leather [shown above] began the day by breaking down exactly what the shop does before the students began work.

“What we are doing is simplifying what the kids normally do – flat tires, help us clean bikes, help us prep bikes for sale,” Travers Martin said “What they are doing now is cleaning and setting up bikes.”

Martin, who was in the midst of creating tags so the students could identifying parts of a bicycle, said they preferred administering the simplified program with parent involvement.

“I haven’t had enough time lately to spend with my daughter so I thought this would be good opportunity,” said Kimberly Watkins, whose 9-year-old daughter Sha’Kaila Mills, 9, [shown below] was in the midst of getting direction from Leather.

“We’ve got to get rid of some of that wobble,” Leather told her. “The back axle bearings inside the hub got loose because the brake arm was not attached. If you ride around for a while with the brake arm detached you can actually destroy the hub. It usually manifests itself as a loose bearing.

“Alright what we are going to do now is we are going to tighten up this side here,” he instructed. “We’re going to first pull the wheel back a little bit and you are going to tighten up that nut there with a 15 millimeter.”

Taking a look at the wrench options, Sha’Kaila correctly identified the tool but had a bit of difficulty tightening the bolt.

“You have the ratchet going in the wrong direction,” Leather explained. “Just take it off and flip it over, if you ever have a problem with a ratchet just use the other end.”

With a sense of accomplishment, Sha’Kaila said, “the hardest part is trying to tighten things.”

The condensed Earn A Bike tutorial was the launch of the Pre K through 5th grade school’s new initiative to help solidify parent involvement.

“It’s about building community relations and teaching the parents how to socialize with the children,” Principal Reginald Mirthil said. “I grew up here so I have a [personal] stake in this community. I want to see them succeed.”

Along with Parent Liaison Racquel Mattis, Mirthil has organized a series of monthly educational events developed to help foster a bond between parent and child.

“We are building up the community, establishing that good relationship – a positive, stable and consistent relationship,” Mirthil said. “We are always  adding education to it because I want them understand and apply what they have learned in school outside in the real world.”

On saturday close to 25 students from 15 families participated in the Earn A Bike event.

“What they are learning is mathematical skills; geometry,” Mirthil said. “Our children have different needs. They are great kids and you see the parents are having fun too. It’s about getting them to smile and learn different activities.

The Bangs Avenue school’s parent/child events will include a Job Fair, visit to the Liberty Science Center, Cape May Zoo, and participation in Home Depot workshops, Matthis said.

——————————————————————————-

Follow the Asbury Park Sun on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

The Asbury Park Sun is affiliated with the triCityNews newspaper.

---