Happy Birthday Canada!

I love my birthday (quite frankly, what I call my birthday week) and in honour of our nation’s birthday, I would like to share a couple ways to use the theme “birthdays” in a cycle class.

1.       Throw a birthday party! Invite cycle participants to celebrate a birthday, such as Canada Day. Have birthday games (you remember your childhood favorites such as Pin the Tail on the Donkey) and modify them into cycle drills, decorate with streamers and balloons, and provide party hats. Consider having prizes or “goody-bags” at the end of class for all those who attended. And don’t forget to play the song “Happy Birthday”.

2.       A less involved way to incorporate the theme “birthdays” is using birth month to group cycle participants. It is an easy and quick way to separate the class into distinct groups. Regardless of what drill you want to do with class participants, calling out a month of the year, cycle participants who are born in that month will respond without even thinking! When grouping, I would suggest three or four groups, which include either three or four months together (e.g., cycle participants born in January, February, and March participate together).

3.       And finally, for registered classes where you could access participants’ birthdays, consider at the month end, celebrating the birthdays. What a great way to make participants feel special in their birthday month!

My countdown is on as my birthday week is fast approaching. Enjoy Canada Day!

Picture Courtesy of: Edmonton Journal

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P.S., As we roll into the summer months, my blog post may become fewer as I will be out on my bike enjoying the nice weather. Don’t worry - I am cooking up more blog post ideas for the Fall! Happy Summer! Happy Riding!