East Side Riders Bike Club (ESRBC) works with the community to provide safe access for bike rides in Watts and surrounding areas. ESRBC organizes group rides for children and their families, teaches proper use of masks and other COVID-19 safety protocols, bike safety, and bicycle maintenance. The club provide helmets, and, whenever possible, bikes if the parents can’t afford them.
ESRBC’s Bike Education and Safety Training (B.E.A.S.T.) classes are open for the whole family. The goal is to make biking easy and fun for the whole family. The club is also sharing love, acceptance, non-judgement and support. This strengthens the community and shows children and teens that there are alternatives to drugs and gangs.
ESRBC’s volunteer supervisors ensure that everyone rides safely, obeys traffic laws and that everyone maintains a safe distance from each other. Due to COVID-19, people are using bikes to commute to and from school and work more than ever. They do not want to risk using public transportation.
Bike repair and maintenance classes teach people how to keep their bikes in working order, which greatly reduces the risk of their bikes breaking down on a ride. The classes also saves families money on bike repair, which helps keep them riding.
ESRBC is more than a bike club. It includes community service into its rides to reinforce the concept of “giving back.” Giving back increases self-esteem and self-reliance, and strengthens the sense of community in an area that is often overlooked.
The ESRBC Mission is to prevent kids from gangs and using drugs, help those who are in need or less fortunate and educate all who seek to enrich the community. Learn more at esrbc.org.
