By David Swarts
NorthEast Motorcycle Road Racing (NEMRR) has a program allowing children to test ride StaCyc electric balance bikes for free, and the program will continue at all 2023 NEWRR race events, including the 100th Loudon Classic on June 16-18, 2023.
The program started in 2022 when Freedom Cycle, a dealership located in Concord, New Hampshire, provided NEMRR with eight StaCyc electric balance bikes to offer demo rides to children.
“The idea was to get kids interested in riding,” NEMRR Executive Director John Grush told Roadracingworld.com. “We set up a little course with cones [in the paddock at New Hampshire Motor Speedway], gave them a little instruction and a lot of supervision, and set them loose, basically. It was pretty amazing to watch those kids progress from the beginning of the year to the end of the year. We had kids putting knee pucks on and dragging their knees on those things.”
Initially, NEMRR was running just one, 1.5-hour session on one day of its race weekends and, based on demand, that quickly expanded to two sessions on one day of each race event. In 2023, the program will expand again to two days each weekend, giving more young people a chance to start riding.
There’s no fee or advanced registration required. The kids only need to wear long pants, a parent needs to sign the release waiver, and then it’s first-come, first-served.
“We provide helmets and knee and elbow pads and the StaCyc,” said Grush.
NEMRR currently does not have a youth-based mini road racing element to its club. So, what happens when the children or their parents inquire about getting involved with racing?
“We work with [NEMRR racer] Sergio Di Molfetta and he has a [mini] racing series with 50cc and up bikes on courses in parking lots. We steer them to that program,” said Grush. “Sergio actually volunteers his time to supervise and give the kids instruction.”
For more information about NEMRR, go to https://nemrr.com.
For more information about Freedom Cycle, go to https://freedomcyclenh.com.
For more information about StaCyc, a company owned by Harley-Davidson, go to https://stacyc.com.
