Team pushes bike travel

Hannah Hamilton showed off her new bike helmet Monday afternoon at Girls Inc., 2811 N. 45th St.

Her old one was smashed when she went over her handlebars on a cross-country trip that she and two friends are making to promote bicycle riding.

Hamilton and her partners, Melissa Thompson and Casey Depasquale, are Join the Cycle -- an all-woman cycling team that's about halfway through a trip from Los Angeles to Boston. They stopped in Omaha on Monday to give a presentation on biking basics and safety. They left June 11, and expect to finish the trip on Sept. 25.

“We're riding bicycles across the United States to inspire more people to bike for transportation,” Depasquale said. “We stop in cities all across America and give presentations like this to boys and girls clubs and summer camps, and basically try to get the kids excited about biking.”

The team displayed their loaded bicycles, which included first aid kits, bike tools, water, change of clothes and camping equipment, among other accoutrements. They quizzed the girls on bicycle safety and demonstrated how to change a tire.

“(We) basically talk to them about our project and why we want them to bike more,” she added. The group is not out to set any cross-country speed records, either.

“We're really traveling by bike, we're not racing,” Despasquale said. “We're not pushing the athletic side, we're pushing the travel side.”

The trio took questions from teen girls. Girls Inc. program director Emily Mwaja said she was excited to have the group give its presentation, pointing out that the organization holds a bike rodeo and promotes other biking activities.

“When we're here, we pull out the bikes,” she said.

The Join the Cycle team is leaving Omaha Tuesday, heading toward Des Moines.

« Community

Share