kids on bikes
Our People
Daniel Byrd
Executive Director
Daniel is a huge advocate for everyone-especially kids-utilizing bikes to explore, have fun, and enjoy the beauty only found in Colorado Springs. Daniel received his bachelors of Social Work from Colorado State University and has a vast background in working with kids as a coach, counselor, and social worker. During his time at Urban Peak, he started up the Bike Program to help homeless youth earn a bike of their own. Daniel brings together a huge passion for kids and bicycles and hopes to strengthen every aspect of Kids on Bikes in order to have a huge impact on his home town of Colorado Springs.
Jess Verplank
Deputy Director
Jessica is a Colorado native with deep roots in the local mountain bike community. She wants to change the world and have a big impact on our Colorado Springs community. She has a huge passion to get more women and kids on bikes and brings that passion to Kids on Bikes. “I believe that we all need to experience the freedom that bikes allow”. She has volunteered for the Women’s Mountain Bike Association of Colorado Springs, coached women’s mountain bike clinics around Colorado and volunteered and coached for summer camps with Kids on Bikes. She loves gardening, cooking, bikepacking and traveling with her family searching for the best locations across the US to camp, mountain bike, paddle board, ski and adventure together.
Kayla Thompson
Program Coordinator
Kayla comes to Kids on Bikes as an outdoor enthusiast from rock climbing, mountain biking, hiking and camping. She has her bachelor’s degree in Health Wellness and Promotion from University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS). Currently working on her master’s in mental health counseling hoping to empower kids and people of all ages through adventure-based therapy. In her free time Kayla and her 8-year-old son love to go on bike rides throughout the city. From interning with another non-profit she found a purpose in the non-profit community and hopes to make a difference in people lives in her hometown of Colorado Springs.
"Fixie" Dave Nice
Senior mechanic and Maintenance Coordinator
“Fixie” Dave Nice has been pedaling since training wheels and working in bike shops since he was 13 years old. He has worked on bikes for endurance athletes, pro athletes, para athletes, and built bikes for various disabilities. If it has pedals, he enjoys working on it. He gets excited hearing the stories of kids who were once students with Kids on Bikes and are now coaching other kids at camps. He loves the freedom and independence a bicycle provides and hopes to inspire that with kids and big kids alike at the Pedal Station. When he’s not wrenching on bikes you can find him year-round commuting by bike, bikepacking, cooking or reading.
Ryan Bunge
Bike Mechanic
Ryan was born in Colorado Springs and after putting in some miles in California, Michigan, and South Carolina, he’s back on track in the foothills of the Rockies. He is happiest outdoors and has spent many years snowboarding, hiking, trail running and biking with his girlfriend Andrea. They even named their first son Fisher (yes, after Gary Fisher). Together with their two active sons (Fisher, Cade and 2 year old dog (Lachlan) they now call Manitou Springs home and Garden of the Gods their backyard. An early interest in photography led Ryan to study at Academy of Art in San Francisco. His cameras are always focused on nature, capturing all that is eye-catching outside. Ryan combines his love of photography and bikes and you’ll often find him snapping iPhone pics of bikes in awesome places.
Joining Kids on Bikes + Pedal Station is a perfect fit…
Eric Barker
Pedal Station Assistant Manager
Bikes meant independence, exploration and transportation to Eric growing up near Detroit, Michigan and London, England. Bikes also represented family, riding all day with siblings and cousins and hanging out with his Aunt and Grandfather at their family bike shop. The family aspect of bikes was important to Eric when riding with his daughter as she grew up. Riding road, cyclocross and mountain bikes was essential in maintaining physical and mental fitness during his career as a government employee and while working as a locomotive engineer and train mechanic. Bike meant education while he attended Barnett Bicycle Institute and then became a volunteer mechanic at the Pedal Station in 2016. A regular volunteer at the Pedal Station, Eric learned more bicycle repair skills and shared that knowledge with others. As a vintage bicycle collector and restorer, bikes are about history and community. He is active in vintage/antique bicycle rides, swaps and clubs in Denver and Colorado Springs. He is passionate about fixing up old steel road bikes, cruisers and klunkers. As a mechanic with Kids on Bikes/Pedal Station, bicycles are a form of giving back. Eric hopes to share his philosophy that bikes are fun, two wheeled, sustainable, egalitarian opportunity machines that should be accessible to all.
Austin Latare
Bike Service Associate
Austin grew up in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio fascinated with snowboarding, skateboarding, and motocross. He spent high school and thereafter studying and working in the small engine repair and diesel mechanic field. After relocating to the Springs in 2018, Austin found the Colorado landscape rekindling his love for the outdoors. He enjoys hiking, snowboarding, biking, and camping with his family and friends. In 2020, Austin started maintaining family bikes and learning all he could about bike mechanics and the cycle industry. Through countless rides in the 2020/2021 seasons, Austin fell in love with the therapeutic benefits of riding bikes and decided to pursue bikes as a career. Today, he enjoys the opportunity the Pedal Station and Kids on Bikes provides to pass along those same feelings and benefits to the Colorado Springs community.
Aspen Saren
Camp Manager
Aspen is a Colorado native and has grown up in the Rocky Mountains enjoying many outdoor activities with her family and friends. She is finishing her bachelors degree in Health and Wellness Promotion at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs. She has always been passionate about serving her community through promoting health in the outdoors. After coaching multiple camps with Kids on Bikes in the summer of 2021 and interning with us throughout the year, she is excited to take on a more permanent role with KOB. She hopes to inspire and empower young girls in the community to find their strength and power through biking. If she’s not at the Pedal Station or helping out with events, you can find her biking on the trails at Palmer Park with her dog Nevaeh or hanging out at a local coffee shop.
Isaac Remington
Bike Mechanic/Camp Coach
Isaac has lived in Colorado Springs his whole life. While living here, he has grown passionate for all things cycling. Early on, Isaac raced BMX around Colorado and then discovered gears soon after. Since then, Isaac has been competing in cross country races, some of which have been Colorado State Championships in Durango and USAC Nationals in Winter Park. When Isaac is not racing, he’s working to GET MORE KIDS ON BIKES by volunteering as a coach and a board member with Front Rangers Junior Cycling and as a Summer coach for Kids On Bikes, both of which he has been doing for 4 years. This passion for getting more bikes into the community has also provided Isaac with an interest in how to make bicycles more efficient which is why he is currently studying Systems Engineering at UCCS. If Isaac is not in the shop or on the trail, he’s probably trying to rock climb or find time to eat a sandwich.
Constantin Riedner
Bike Mechanic and Retail Associate
Con grew up in Uganda and moved to Colorado Springs when he was 11. Community has always been important to him and Kids on Bikes’ mission is right at the crossroads of his passion for community and mountain biking. Though he came from the world of car mechanics, working on bikes is more in line with his values. The most important thing for him is getting kids and adults on bikes because they are fun. He believes everyone should have the opportunity to enjoy life and connect through cycling. Con loves all things outdoors and when he’s not at the Pedal Station, he is out riding his bike, camping, climbing, hiking, paddle boarding, or skiing. Basically he’s game for anything out in nature.
Interested in joining our team? Click here to check out our available opportunities
Board of Directors
- President Joey A. Lee, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, UCCS-Beth El College of Nursing and Health Science
- Founder, Paige Carmichael, Co-Founder, Carmichael Training Systems. Non voting member
- Treasurer, Brandon Eldridge, Branch Manager Vectra Bank
- Secretary, Kevin Knapp, Founder & Owner, Tierra Plan
- Erica Mulder, M.D. Pediatrician and Ownership Partner, Iron Horse Pediatrics
- Samuel Clark, Executive Director, Pikes Peak Real Estate Foundation
- Felicia M. Geray CPA, Audit Manager, BKD
- Nic Ponsor, Owner/President of Criterium Bike Shop
- Trey Williams, Assistant Vice Provost, University of Michigan - Office of the Vice Provost for Equity, Inclusion, and Academic Affairs