The Hailey Public Library will host the first Women’s Spring Roadworthy Bike Workshop on Saturday, June 18, from 9 a.m. to noon, with LCI-certified instructors Deanna Smith and Sarah Harris. Basic maintenance, how to adjust equipment for optimum performance, and safe riding skills will be followed by a bike ride. The event is free, but enrollment is limited to 15.
RSVP to kristin.fletcher@haileypubliclibrary.org for details and to reserve your spot.
“If you love biking but wish you knew a little more, this hands-on workshop is for you,” stated organizer Kristin Fletcher, the library’s programs and engagement manager. “It’s designed to help eliminate barriers that may limit one’s biking enjoyment and help riders feel more confident and comfortable riding a bike anyplace. The instructors will also touch on how to determine if an issue is too complex and a professional is needed.”
Both Deanna Smith and Sarah Harris are longtime League of American Bicyclists-certified Licensed Cycling Instructors. At age 14, Smith fell in love with cycling after a bike tour in Europe. After returning from that trip, she began biking seriously, taking a bike mechanics class and working as a bike mechanic in high school and college. The bike tour was also her first exposure to better, safer infrastructure for people who choose to walk and bike. The experience led to work with Idaho Smart Growth where she focused on transportation safety education and infrastructure for the past 12 years. Now retired, she volunteers with Safe Routes to School and Idaho Walk Bike Alliance, continuing to promote walking and biking as safe, reliable modes of transportation.
Harris started bicycling on the uneven sidewalk in front of her childhood home in Hailey and later commuted by bike to Bellevue where she worked at a drive-in. She met her future husband during a chance encounter on a bicycle ride and for almost 30 years commuted to the College of Southern Idaho where she worked. For many years she organized Fall and Spring Semester Bike (run, walk, board) to Work/School Week on campus. She served on St. Luke’s Foundation Magic Valley Bike More, Drive Less, Give Back Committee as well as the Twin Falls Master Transportation Committee.