woom bikes USA Launches Family Bike Festival: Raise Riders Family Bicycle Weekend Plugs Into the Austin Marathon

AUSTIN, Texas, January 9, 2019 (Newswire.com) - Local Austin children’s bicycle manufacturer woom bikes USA has partnered with nationally recognized children’s media company Buddy Pegs Media to host the first annual Raise Riders Family Bicycle Weekend Feb. 15-17, 2019. The three-day celebration of families on bikes will be hosted alongside the 28th anniversary of the Austin Marathon and Health & Fitness Expo sister event.

Local families with children 10 and under, as well as families traveling into Austin for the marathon, will choose from a full menu of on-the-bike and off-the-bike activities that reinforce the most iconic marker of childhood: riding on two wheels. The festival kicks off Friday morning, Feb. 15, at the Palmer Event Center (home of the Health & Wellness Expo) and runs all the way through the Austin Marathon Finish Line Festival Sunday, Feb. 17.

The festival will also include two new youth bicycle categories in the Manzano Mile running race on Saturday morning. Kids 8 and under can enter either the “balance bike” or “pedal bike” category depending on ability levels. The Manzano Mile takes place on Riverside Drive behind the Palmer Events Center.

“We are so excited to bring another very special event to Austin that highlights all the tremendous benefits of family bike riding. Given all the concerns about the rapidly declining emotional and physical health of kids these days, it’s more important than ever to remind parents about the importance of bike riding and show them how to do it,” said woom owner Mathias Ihlenfeld.

Buddy Pegs Media authors, podcast creators and co-founders Jannine and Scott Fitzgerald are a passionate pair of bicycle-industry veterans using the foundation of their children’s media brand to build a national cycling curriculum for families with children 2-5 years old. This past October, the duo packed up their bikes and moved into a 24-foot motorhome with their 8-year-old son in order to offer family cycling classes from California to Florida. Their journey is dubbed "The Raise Riders Tour." When they arrive in Austin, it will mark the halfway point of their eight-month coast-to-coast journey which is sponsored by woom bikes. “We have been so thrilled by woom bikes' support of our effort to build a preschool-age national cycling program that it just made sense to put together a special festival while we are in Austin for the month of February,” said Buddy Pegs Media co-founder Jannine Fitzgerald.

Marathon and Health & Wellness Expo organizers at High Five Events have worked closely with Ihlenfeld and Buddy Pegs Media owner Scott Fitzgerald to seamlessly integrate these new bicycle events into their action-packed weekend. “I think this is a great addition to the Marathon weekend and a wonderful evolution of the Health & Wellness Expo. Whether on two feet or two wheels, we want to continue to inspire, and educate, families on the benefits of outdoor adventure together,” said Jack Murray, High Five Events co-owner.

Festival Website: www.buddypegs.com/austin

The preliminary festival schedule is in place and events will be added over the coming weeks:

Friday: Palmer Events Center

10:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

• Family group rides (exact times and routes TBD). Segmented by age/ability. 

1-4 p.m.

• woom bikes demos for children 2-10 years old
• Buddy Pegs Media fun and games
  • Bicycle Playdates and Bicycle Playground (kids 2-6 years old)
  • Author readings and book signings
  • Bicycle Scavenger Hunt
  • Arts and crafts table
• Visit woom bikes and Buddy Pegs Media inside the Health & Wellness Expo

Saturday: Palmer Events Center

10 a.m. - 5 p.m.

• 1st Annual Youth bicycle category in the Manzano Mile event
  • Riverside Drive Start/Finish
  • 11:45 a.m. Pedal Bike Division (1-mile ride)
  • 11:55 a.m. Balance Bike Division (½-mile ride)
• woom bikes demos for children 2-10 years old
• Buddy Pegs Media fun and games
  • Bicycle Playdates and Bicycle Playground (kids 2-6 years old)
  • Author readings and book signings
  • Bicycle Scavenger Hunt
  • Arts and crafts table
• Visit woom bikes and Buddy Pegs Media inside the Health & Wellness Expo

Sunday: Marathon Finish Line Festival (7th & Congress)

• Buddy Pegs Media Bicycle Playground (kids 2-6 years old)
• woom bikes USA kids bike demos
• Arts and crafts table for kids
• Scavenger Hunt
• Bicycle games and prizes

About woom bikes USA

A family owned and operated business offering light-weight and high-quality bicycles for children of all ages. woom’s attention to detail sets the company apart – from the carefully selected materials and commitment to safety and performance to the first-of-its-kind Up-Cycle program, woom is changing the paradigm of youth cycling. When it comes to the needs of a child, a woom bike is unmatched. Eighty-five percent of the bike parts are individually developed and produced exclusively for woom. The bikes are tailor-made for the child's anatomy and needs. With the never-ending development and research, woom has succeeded in making the woom bike 40 percent lighter than a conventional children's bike. woom bikes are designed and developed in Vienna, Austria. woom USA was born in 2014 with the desire to bring the same high-quality and light-weight bike models to families in the United States. The North American operations are in Austin, Texas. For more information or to make a purchase, visit us.woombikes.com or contact dave@woombikes.com or call 855-966-6872.

About Buddy Pegs Media

A children’s media company based in Teton Valley, Idaho, that is focused on helping parents connect with their children through bicycling. The central characters of the Buddy Pegs books and podcasts are bike-riding dogs and cats who run a local bike shop and inspire all the animals in their fictional town of Spokesville to get out and ride. Since 2015, their children’s storybooks and storytelling podcasts have captured the hearts of U.S. families and the support of key partners. "Buddy Pegs" is an '80s throwback reference to the pegs kids put on the back of their bikes to bring friends along for a ride. Scott and Jannine Fitzgerald chose the name to symbolize their desire to bring others "along for the ride."

About the Austin Marathon

The 28th Anniversary of The Austin Marathon, Half Marathon and 5K will fill Austin’s streets on Feb. 17, 2019. The weekend-long event begins with over 75,000 visitors to the Health & Fitness Expo, followed by 17,000 runners on race morning, concluding with an Austin-style Finish Line Festival complete with 100,000 spectators, live coverage to over a million viewers and a rocking band and beer garden.

For more information or to schedule an interview, contact:

Mathias Ihlenfeld, mathias@woombikes.com, 512-695-9780

Scott Fitzgerald, scott@buddypegs.com, 307-690-4818

For logos and photo collateral, please visit:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/khx5wnizw9xxtbu/AADP2ytud1D8IlLWZS8cUGAxa?dl=0

Source: woom bikes USA

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