Stop by Burien’s Annex Community Park on a summer evening and you’re likely to see kids zooming around on bikes beneath matching red bike helmets. As their parents and volunteers coach from the sidelines, the kids practice gliding between cones and maneuvering along freshly painted “streets” that crisscross the asphalt.
It’s all part of the non-profit Toros Cycling Club’s Bike Rodeo program. The free learn-to-ride program teaches children the fundamentals of riding: how to balance, steer, and pedal. And, as club founder David Rios points out, riding a bike and even racing bikes is about a good deal more than learning the basics.
It’s about community, Rios says.
Rios recalled attending a BMX racing event with his kids in 2011. It brought memories of the freedom he felt riding his BMX bike in Mexico as a child. He decided to take his children to a local BMX track where his kids fell in love with the sport. Over time, Rios noticed hisfamily was often the only Latino family at the track.
An idea sparked: Rios would introduce cycling to more Latino families.
He began by inviting friends and people they met at the BMX track to join other rides. Eventually, the first Toros Cycling Club BMX racing team was built. Many Latino youth have joined Toros since then — not only to race as individuals, but to find connection.
“You need your team for support,” Rios says. “It’s like life. At the end of the day, it’s you and your decisions, but you need your family and community for support.”
Today, the Toros Cycling Club hosts free year-round programming, including road cycling groups, mountain biking groups, and winter indoor cycling programs that engage the whole family, not just kids.
Learn how to get involved: Visit toroscyclingclub.org/support.
