Challenge by Choice: Kristen Gallagher on What Cycling Teaches Kids Beyond the Classroom

Starting a cycling program at a school can feel intimidating, especially without a background in mountain biking. With the right support, it can become one of the most effective ways to build confidence, connection, and joy in young riders.

Through equipment access, coach education, and a supportive cycling community, CCAP works with schools and teachers who want to spark and sustain a love of riding in their students.

A great example of this is Ledyard Middle School teacher Kristen Gallagher, who has led her local team for nearly a decade. In this interview, Kristen shares how CCAP supported her journey from a small bike club to a thriving cycling program, and why the kids were always ready to ride.

CCAP - How did you first get involved with CCAP, and what inspired you to start a cycling club…. Even without a background in mountain biking?

Kristen -My first experience, or maybe it was more of an encounter with CCAP was back in November 2015.  Karen Franzen sent an email to middle school principals asking whether anyone was interested in starting a bike club.  The email spoke to me.  I loved biking when I was in middle school.  I joined Pequot Cyclists as a 7th grader and found joy in riding.  I went to bike camp where we biked and camped in Vermont and Nova Scotia.  The counselors nurtured my love of cycling and I wanted to give that back to kids.  I knew absolutely nothing about mountain biking, but I was willing to learn.

CCAP- What do you remember about those early days of the team — how did it all begin?

Kristen -The early days were a hodgepodge of bikes and riders.  I had three to five kids and we practiced a few times a month.  The CCAP would come to our practices and teach the kids and me different skills. Kids had their own bikes, and I had a hybrid bike I named “Mom Jeans.”  We were eventually given five brand new mountain bikes.  Kids who lived nearby told me about a trail behind the school.  It was an out-and-back trail that we would ride on, but most of our time was spent in the athletic fields and parking lots around the school.  I really thought it wasn’t enough and that the kids were going to get bored, but the kids would stop me in the hall asking when we were going to ride again. They didn’t care; they just wanted to ride.

CCAP - Over the years, how have you grown personally as a coach and leader?

Kristen - There was no way I could have anticipated how biking and being a coach would have such an impact on my life.  Personally, it was hard learning how to MTB.  I am not an adrenaline junkie!  Everything was scary and new for me.  I pushed myself not to give up. I told myself that there are tons of folks who love mountain biking, so it must be worth sticking with it.  I had forgotten what it felt like to do something out of my comfort zone, to fail and eventually be successful.  The experience of starting from zero as a mountain biker really helped me become an empathetic coach. I could relate on a real level with what kids were experiencing.  I learned to become a better listener and have a more open mind. Because it’s not a classroom, I am able to put kids in positions where they will be successful, something that isn’t always possible during the school day.  The biggest takeaway I’ve learned is to let the kids set their own limits, not to underestimate what a kid can do.  I have learned to embrace the phrase “challenge by choice.”  

CCAP - The team has expanded to include more than 25 bikes and 30 riders. What has that growth meant to you?

Kristen -When we received our Riding For Focus Grant in 2018, we were awarded 45 mountain bikes.  That was the same year our school went from a 7-8 school to a 6-7-8 school.  It meant I didn’t have to turn kids away; it meant kids from biking families could experience the joy of riding.  It also meant I had another layer of support within the cycling community.  I was able to incorporate the Riding For Focus curriculum into what we were already doing and build a network of other teachers teaching cycling across the country.  It has opened up an opportunity I never dreamed of. I have been asked to return to Specialized HQ in Morgan Hill, CA, twice to help train teachers who are starting a riding program.  

CCAP - What does a typical practice look like now with your Beginner, Intermediate, and experienced groups?

Kristen - Every practice, regardless of the skill level, starts with an ABC Quick Check and helmet fit.  By the time the kids are in the Experienced group, they are able to determine issues with brakes and shifting or loose quick-release levers independently.  Based on the practice before I plan lessons or skills groupings within the practice.  It might be a lesson focused on shifting where I instruct, demo, explain again and then have the kids try.  We use the fields and hills around the school and tell them where they will need to use this skill on the trail.  When we’re on the trail,  the new skill practiced in isolation is applied for real.

CCAP - Can you share a story of a student whose life was clearly changed through being part of the team?

Kristen -Every year there is always a student or two who have found something within themselves through cycling and it’s often those same students who teach me something about being a coach and a better, more patient person.  There was one boy several years ago who stands out.  He’s that ADHD kid that couldn’t be contained, the kid you could hear before you saw him.  The first couple of practices I debated about asking him to leave the club.  Kids were complaining about him and he was more behavior than I had the energy to deal with.  Instead of asking him to leave I had the idea to make him a leader. He was a good cyclist and I knew I would be able to hear him no matter where he was on the trail.  He rose to the challenge of being a group leader.  He began going on Saturday rides with a local bike shop.  He wanted to learn how to change flats, he wanted to race, he wanted to do everything cycling.  While he was still in high school got a job at a bike shop.  He started washing bikes and moved his way up to assembling bikes and sales.  He personally taught me that I need to give kids opportunities to showcase what they are capable of rather than focusing on the negative.  

Another rider was a beginning rider.  He got angry at the trees when he hit them.  He chucked his bike into the woods, swore, and had ultimate meltdowns.  When the time for our first race came up at home I almost told him he might want to sit this one out.  My fear was that it was going to be overwhelmingly challenging and he would have a bad experience and not want to bike any longer.  He decided he wanted to try, so who was I to try to stop him! He proved me wrong!  I asked him how the race was and his response, “It was awesome!”  He was hooked!  He became one of the best and most motivated riders on the team over the next two years.  His passion was contagious, and his dad began riding with him, and his mom started a regional team.  He presented to our local Rotary Club chapter about our cycling program and how biking has changed his relationship with his dad. He makes my heart so happy.

CCAP - What impact have you seen cycling have on your students’ confidence, friendships, or outlook?

Kristen -The best thing is to watch a kid find courage and determination.  Riders who try a new feature and fail, or psych themselves out before they attempt but go back to it the next week with determination to “get” that feature and trying it again and again until they do.  That feeling of accomplishment is as exciting as Daniel winning in the final fight scene of the “Karate Kid.”

CCAP - How has the program influenced your school or local community?

Kristen - Parents tell me that their kids have been looking forward to Bike Club since elementary school.  Our principal describes our school as a “Cycling School.”  

CCAP - What keeps you motivated to come back and coach year after year?

Kristen -100% the kids!  When I have a group of kids who started as beginners and have progressed to experienced riders, it makes me proud.  Getting to see kids learn bike skills, overcome fears and find their passion is amazing!   When that confidence transcends the trail to the classroom, I know we’re onto something good!

CCAP - For someone thinking about starting a cycling club but unsure where to begin — what would you tell them?

Kristen -Don’t talk yourself out of why you can’t do it. The first thing is to just commit to doing it.  Start small, a couple times a week, a few kids and watch it grow. People want to help and be a part of something good.  The cycling community is bigger than you realize, and when you tell people you’re starting a riding club for kids, people will want to help.  It doesn’t have to be big, you don’t have to know everything, the kids just want to ride!  CCAP was and still is tremendously supportive from ride-alongs to formal coaching instruction as well as a network of experienced coaches to talk to and ride with.