A child learning to ride a bicycle often needs more than a push from behind. There is the bike itself, a helmet that fits, a safe place to practice and someone patient enough to run alongside until the wobble settles. In Alpharetta, Georgia, the Pedal Forward Foundation is bringing those pieces together through free cycling clinics for children.
A new profile published Oct. 14 by Good News Network described the work of founder Jonathan Thai, a high-school triathlete who began the foundation after a local bike instruction program ended. The report said the organization had secured 400 donated bicycles, distributed 500 helmets and hosted more than a dozen free clinics. Those are figures reported by the outlet; Pedal Forward’s own site separately describes its mission as making bikes and instruction available to children who might otherwise lack access.
The program’s premise is practical: if a child arrives without a bicycle or helmet, the lesson can still begin. In a June interview with Points of Light, Thai said participants are fitted with properly sized equipment, and children who come without a bike and helmet can take them home at the end of camp. He described the clinics as a place for beginners to build balance and for more experienced riders to practice on nearby trails.
The sessions move in small steps. Points of Light reported that children who have not learned to pedal begin with the pedals removed so they can concentrate on balance. Once they are steady, the pedals go back on. Other riders practice braking, maneuvering and navigating traffic. Thai said camps typically serve about 35 to 40 children and aim for roughly one volunteer per child, a structure that lets instructors adjust to different skill levels.
Those details can matter as much as the donated equipment. A properly sized bike and helmet make the first lesson safer; a volunteer beside a nervous beginner gives the child room to try again without turning the mistake into a reason to stop. The foundation’s impact page features parent testimonials describing patient instruction and children who arrived uncertain and left more confident. Those are accounts published by the organization, rather than independently measured outcomes, but they show what participating families say they value.
For Thai, the lessons began with a gap he saw close to home. Points of Light reported that REI ended the local bike-training classes under its Experience program in January 2025, leaving families without a program they had used. Thai had volunteered with his parents while growing up, the profile said, and he built on those relationships to recruit partners and organize camps. He also told the outlet that biking can serve needs beyond recreation, including getting to school, groceries or work.
The two ideas—joy and practical mobility—sit side by side in the program. A bike can be a child’s first chance to ride independently, and for a family, it can also be a useful way to reach everyday destinations. Instruction gives young riders the confidence and skills to use the equipment they receive, while helmets and fitting make safety part of the handoff rather than an afterthought.
Points of Light also recorded one story Thai remembered from a camp held with the City of Roswell during Hispanic Heritage Month. He said he worried a language barrier had limited his ability to connect with Jesse, a boy at the camp. Later, Thai read Jesse’s mother’s testimonial: after camp, her son kept riding for hours on the bike he had received. The account, relayed through Thai and Points of Light, captures the program’s goal: give a child practice, encouragement and a bike to keep.
The Oct. 14 report also described the work as growing beyond Georgia, with chapters in New York and Tennessee. The foundation’s public pages list its Georgia, Tennessee and New York activities. As of Oct. 15, its Georgia events page listed free Fall 2026 camps for Oct. 25 and Nov. 28; both dates were still upcoming when checked. Any plans beyond those current chapters should be treated as future plans unless the organization confirms they have happened.
For a beginner, the moment of riding alone can look small from the sidewalk: a few yards without a hand on the seat, a turn made without tipping, a brake pressed at the right time. A free lesson cannot remove every barrier to transportation or recreation. It can give a child a bicycle, a helmet and a chance to practice with someone nearby—and a family can decide where that new confidence takes them next.
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