Why Bikes?

Why bikes? Because a whole new way to experience the streets and the world begins on a bike! This is what our participants are all about at ReWritten: discovering new ways to engage and conquer their world.

The new mental skills attained by riding a bike are necessary for our participants’ development and preparation for life. To engage the world from the seat of a bike means new mental challenges must be immediately overcome. These challenges include keeping the bike upright when instability hits, steering away from obstacles, and slowing down when picking up too much speed. The mental skills acquired in these initial moments foreshadow the mental skills required to overcome life’s instabilities, obstacles, and slowing down when things seem out of control. Awkward beginnings will give rise to developed skill and, eventually, many, many successes.

If there is no street they can’t conquer, there will be no mountain they can’t conquer.

New bike riding skills bring new perspectives on the same well-worn streets. What once was perceived as a boring sidewalk or parking lot to traverse to get home, is now an adventure waiting to be had. Even the most deteriorating streets represent the necessary obstacles to steer away from that every good adventure story demands. Yes, there will be the new explorations on paths never before taken. But, more importantly, the new perspectives about the same street problems and the new mental skills to figure them out, strengthen our participant’s abilities to conquer everything. This is the conquering of their “streets”. If there is no street they can’t conquer, there will be no mountain they can’t conquer.

For many of our kids, bikes are a luxury not able to be provided by birth parent or guardian. So, many of our participants in these situations would have never learned to ride a bike – which could potentially be a source of embarrassment or feelings of deficiency (like not knowing how to swim). But, it doesn’t have to be this way. Now, bikes abound at ReWritten thanks to Deanna and many others at Cummins; 25 bikes were awarded to ReWritten participants.

Thank you Cummins for your generous gift to our organization and the young people we serve!