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Building Better Riders With PedalPower Kids
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n a chilly spring day at Weems Creek Nursery School, seven three- and fouryear-olds zoomed around in circles on the playground on tiny balance bikes. The kids were learning balancing skills with their teacher, Rachel Varn, the owner of PedalPower Kids. Varn was encouraging and patient with the little ones, and had a command of the group as they practiced bunny hops, blast-off starts and obstacle courses. This was only the kids’ second lesson with Varn, yet not a tear was shed even as kids bumped into each other and crashed on several occasions. It’s no surprise the kids were having fun and were calm in learning. Varn has been dubbed by local parents as the “Bike Whisperer,” having taught over 250 kids since she opened PedalPower Kids a year ago. Varn decided to start PedalPower Kids when she realized there were a lot of parents who
were frustrated that their kids weren’t riding. “I knew that families in this area were using great swim instructors and, as a lifelong cyclist, I thought that there would be a market to do something similar,” says Varn. “So I started offering private lessons. I quickly added on camps through Anne Arundel County, and then through the city. And it’s grown like crazy.” Varn, who lives in Severna Park with her husband and four kids ranging from second grade to a freshman in college, has worked in the bike industry, as well as in franchising. Plus she has a background that includes a lot of teaching and coaching, including in track, field hockey and swimming, she says. Varn says there’s two pieces of learning to ride a bike—balance and pedaling. “Pedaling, developmentally, is something that most kids five and above can do able to easily,” she says, adding that many kids are “stuck on the balance continued on page 8 M AY 2019
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