SEYMOUR – Brothers Elon and Vincent Levesque love to ride their bikes and have come up with a bike exchange program that would give other Seymour kids the chance to ride bikes, too.
Elon, 8, and Vincent, 6, were joined by their mother, Cristina Levesque, at the Sept. 1 meeting of the Seymour Board of Selectpersons. The family unveiled an idea to launch a program where kids who don’t have bikes can get one for free, and kids who’ve outgrown their bikes can “trade up” their bike for a bigger one.
They appeared before the board to see if members could offer some help in getting the program off the ground, like finding space to store bikes once collected and rallying other town groups or businesses to get involved.
The program would be called Pedal Up Kids, according to Cristina Levesque.
“This is an idea we’ve been talking about for a long time,” Levesque told the board members. “We hope it can become a community program, a bike exchange program, for children.”
The plan is to collect gently used or donated bikes for kids of all ages, along with looking to area businesses or retail giants like Walmart or Amazon to donate helmets, reflectors and other related bike and safety gear, according to Levesque.
Levesque said the goal is to also hold regular bike safety clinics, where kids can learn the basics of biking and bike helmet safety.
“We just want all the kids to have a bike and just ride it,” Levesque said.
The idea for a community bike program was inspired by the Levesque family’s young neighbor, according to Levesque. The family began biking to school last year, and their 9-year-old neighbor asked one day if she could join them.
“She grabbed her bike and joined us on our ride and had a really great time,” Levesque said. “But there was one problem – her bike was too small. Her knees were almost hitting her elbows, and it was clearly difficult for her to ride. And my kids noticed. The kids took turns exchanging bikes so they could ease her discomfort.”
Levesque said her neighbor’s story inspired the family to think about other kids in town who may have similar stories.
“How many other kids want to ride bikes? How many have outgrown their bikes, but parents can’t replace them? How many have unused bikes in garages they don’t use and how many kids don’t have an opportunity to ride?” Levesque said. “We’re coming to you with an idea and a willingness to work together, and together as a family and a community, we hope we can make this happen.”
For Elon and Vincent, riding their bikes is just plain fun, and they said if they can help other kids enjoy it, that’s even better.
“I like biking around because it’s fun, you can go see your friends and family and it’s fun to bike to school,” Elon said.
Vincent added, “You can go wherever you want and I like biking because you can just go on the sidewalk.”
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis applauded the family for wanting to create a community program geared to help others.
“You both and your mom deserve a round of applause for coming up with this idea,” Drugonis said.
Seymour Ambulance Association has expressed interest in partnering with Levesque to host bike safety clinics, according to Drugonis. Drugonis also said the Seymour Community Center could potentially be a good place to headquarter the program, and be used for bike storage and the place where kids can pick up and exchange bikes.
Selectwoman Brianna Girard is a biking enthusiast herself and liked what she heard.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Girard said. “As a cyclist, I know how expensive bikes can be.”
Selectman Scott Andrews liked how the program would be safety-focused.
“You’re teaching kids responsibility and how to ride responsibly and I think it’s a great thing what you’re doing.”
Selectman Phil Wilhelmy loved the idea and asked the family, “How can we help?”
To help Levesque in the family’s mission to get the program off the ground, contact her at cristinalevesque@gmail.com.