AntFarm Clinic Recap

Written by Nancy Stone, Education & Sustainability Director (nancys@nw-trail.org)

On the heels of a successful Trail School at Sandy Ridge this spring, where NWTA and AntFarm Youth Services teamed up to offer their youth an immersion into trail maintenance (Trail School), both parties were looking forward to more opportunities for collaboration. This opportunity came in the form of a MTB Skills Clinic at Newell Creek Canyon Park in Oregon City.

Antfarm provides youth with a bike program that not only provides youth the opportunity to ride bikes together but offers bike maintenance classes where they repair and upgrade their fleet of loaner bikes. Currently, teenagers that are participating in this program are, in many cases, learning how to ride a bike for the very first time. 

This is where NWTA enters the picture. Two of the trail alliance’s volunteer BICP Instructors, Roo Albisurez and Nancy Stone, led a skills clinic covering the fundamentals of riding a bike. Both instructors were pleasantly surprised to find out that the participants had just learned how to ride a bike earlier this summer and were now navigating uneven terrain while mastering shifting, braking, and practicing bike/body separation techniques. 

All of these skills will come in handy when AntFarm youth take off this coming spring on their very first bikepacking trip. Until then, they will continue to hone their skills and build confidence on their bike. 
Antfarm Youth Services is a 501(c)(3) that supports young people and their families and helps build strong communities while teaching sustainability through education and practice in NE Clackamas County. If you would like to support Antfarm’s programs, you can do so here.