A BIKE safety program to help tweens and teens navigate the roads is being held in Bendigo on January 5 and 6.
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The two-day event is aimed at helping primary school leavers commute to secondary school safely.
It has been welcomed by parents including Mhairi Campbell-Pollard, whose children Lauchie and Lyra will be taking part in the program.
"They've both been given new bikes as birthday and Christmas presents and we are keen for them to ride to school next year,'' she said.
"It's important for them to have that independence and freedom after so many lockdowns in the past two years."
Students can also learn puncture repair, and practice the route from Specimen Hill Primary and Big Hill Primary to Crusoe College at separate events later next month.
Bike Bendigo, a not-for-profit community organisation, will run all three events before school starts for 2022.
Spokeswoman Nicola Dunnicliff-Wells said children aged over 12 in Victoria were obliged to ride on the road.
"We want to support students to develop skills and strategies to ride safely on the roads,'' she said.
"Once they turn 13 - legally they are required to ride on the roads and not the footpaths anymore. Just as you learn to drive a car - having somebody to teach you how to do it safely and being able to practice with a fully qualified instructor makes a big difference."
Ms Dunnicliff-Wells said the two-day program would give young people about eight hours of practice on the roads, where they would encounter roundabouts and intersections and learn how to traverse them safely.
"We will have two instructors and we will stay away from traffic in the beginning before moving on to the more complicated things. Seeing kids develop the confidence to be able to ride safely through intersections is lovely to watch."
Ms Dunnicliff-Wells said spaces were still available in the programs, which had been supported by grant funding from both VicRoads and VicHealth. The two-day program costs $25 and tickets can be purchased at trybooking.com/BVGKR. The other programs are free, but bookings are essential and can be made at trybooking.com/BVUFP.
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