Friends of Bike Works may know Sterling as the yo-yo performer from our auction. Or perhaps you know him because you’ve seen him in the hardcourt bike polo scene that’s been exploding around Seattle. Sterling came to Bike Works in 2002 as a nine year old excited about earning a BMX bike. Now we are thrilled to announce that this former youth/yoyo champion/bike polo talent/bike repair pro is joining Bike Works as our newest staff member! Sterling is serving an AmeriCorps term as our Program Assistant, helping to run all of our youth programs for the upcoming year. As an alumnus of many of these programs, Sterling brings valuable personal experience, in addition to his passion for bicycles.
Several years ago, Sterling gave up Bike Works to focus on the world of yoyos. As a senior in high school, he began to commute to high school from across town and wanted a road bike. After completing our Earn-a-Bike program, youth can come to the weekly free drop-in, where they can continue to earn bikes and parts until they turn 18. So Sterling returned. We convinced him to take the Advanced Mechanics Class and began to come around on the weekends for bike polo. He ended up in the Polo Camp that summer and, to our joy, soon signed up for the Advanced Bicycle Tour down the Oregon Coast - 450 miles of some of the hardest, most epic landscape in the West – from Astoria, OR to Crescent City, CA. Sterling has told us that this trip was a life changing experience. “I pushed myself harder than I ever had. This was possibly the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I made new friends, and I got a much needed break from my parents, normal life, and technology. This trip is the best thing I’ve done in so many ways.”
Sterling continues to challenge himself, often on the bike polo court. This summer he was an assistant instructor for our Polo All Day Camp and competed at the Polo World Championships here in Seattle! Of course, Sterling is already a champion to us here at Bike Works and we couldn’t be more pleased to have him join our staff this year .
EARN-A-BIKE
Learn how to fix bikes in a bicycle repair class! During the 8-week program you can practice your skills on bikes we repair and give back to the community. When you have worked 18 hours of community service on the bikes we donate, you can pick out and fix up your own bike, bike parts, or accessories! Every class graduate can continue to attend weekly drop-in Earn-a-Bike hours, practice their skills and earn community service hours until they turn 18.
BICYCLE LEADERS PROGRAM
There are ample opportunities available once you've graduated from the Earn-a-Bike classes. Take an Advanced Mechanics Class (once you've turned 14) and join our Bicycle Leaders program where you can earn extra hours by mentoring your peers, teaching others, and taking on more advanced work projects. Older youth can also work to become a ride leader apprentice on our summer camps or a bicycle mechanic apprentice in the Bike Works shop!
BICYCLE RIDES
Once you've learned bicycle safety and have been through our programs you can go on bike rides with us and explore your world by bicycle. We have a number of riding opportunities at Bike Works including our Street Burners bike club, our RIDES club, bike touring opportunities and bike riding summer camps for youth ages 9-17!
STREET BURNERS
Get outside and on your own two wheels in our youth-driven Street Burner's bike
club. We will take you out on BMX, road, and mountain bikes; we play bike polo, make bike art, and learn bicycle safety, watch bike movies and more! Once you've graduated from Earn-a-Bike you can be in the club until you turn 18.
RIDES CLUB
In our eight week RIDES club we welcome youth who want to increase their road riding skills and get out and explore their communities. There are RIDES club programs during the school year, as well as RIDES summer camps - also known as RIDES (ride, investigate, discover the environment & society) - where you can spend the week exploring the urban environment by bicycle and creating your own map of the city!
If you want to get outside and play a great new sport on your bicycle then you should join the programs at Bike Works. About twice a month Bike Works youth alumni gather to play hardcourt bike polo on the weekends. During the summer, we run a week long summer camp where participants play polo all day, every day. Teams of three players face off to try to score five goals to win. Polo builds teamwork as well as bike handling skills, and is a ton of fun. We hope to see you on the polo courts of Seattle soon!
BICYCLE TOURING
Get out of town in one of our bike touring camps! Learn how to support yourself through your own pedal power while exploring the State of Washington. Talk about the places we are traveling through with the group, discuss social justice and environmental issues, and challenge yourself to be all you can be! All bike touring camps are age-specific and our progression of bike touring options from beginning to advanced will fit every need - we're sure you'll have a great time riding with us and making new friends!
OUR SUMMER CAMPS
Don't have any plans for the summer? Have a week or two to spare? Join the Bike Works crew in our variety of summer camps and we are sure you'll find one that suits you. We offer riding camps, bike touring camps, and day bike camps so check them out here!
YOUTH OUT SPOKE'N
Learn more about the important work our youth are doing for the community. Join us, bring your ideas, and get inspired!
PARTNERSHIPS
We offer custom courses for local schools and other community-based organizations. A few of the options include single-day bicycle repair classes, multi-day training rides, after-school programs, and up to eight-week courses to get a bike or simply learn bike repair. Please let us know if we can send you flyers for your school, parents group, or organization - and contact us if you are interested in finding a way to partner with us!
