"Bike Zone" Proposed for Ocean City Tabernacle

By MADDY VITALE After a successful event that brought local bicyclists together in a safe venue, the local mother who organized it has plans for a permanent location. “The kids in theater have a theater club. The skaters have their skate park,” Sarah Gaddy, the married Ocean City mom of five who made the May 12 bike event possible, said Thursday. “Now we're going to have a bike zone.” For weeks after the May bike event that brought kids, police and the community together, Gaddy thought about where her son C.J. Gaddy, a 15-year-old who wins awards for the longest wheelies, and his fellow bicyclists will be able to safely ride. “I have been working so hard on getting a space for the bikes since we had such an incredible event,” Gaddy said. She went to Ocean City Tabernacle Pastor Jay Reimer and Youth Minister Jonathan Gonzalez, who is also director of the afterschool Son Club program, and they were very receptive to lending a hand, Gaddy noted. On Monday, June 7 at 6 p.m. at the Tabernacle's Youth Center Gaddy will meet with Gonzalez in a meeting open to families to discuss some specifics about creating a bike zone on the Tabernacle grounds. Sarah Gaddy and her son, C.J., hope the community is receptive to a bike zone. (Photo courtesy of Sarah Gaddy) The meeting is solely to discuss the plan. Bicyclists are not permitted to ride or do tricks on the grounds until after an official biking area is designated, Gaddy said. “We want the local kids and their families to come to this meeting where we can share all the amazing details and we can get some awesome feedback from the kids," Gaddy said. "We can share with everyone how we're going to make this bike zone come to life.” She said some things that they would go over are how many nights a week the bike zone would be held and at what time. “It will be some place to keep them safe. All they are looking for is freedom to burn off energy and do their tricks,” Gaddy said. The May 12 bike event came in response to recent incidents in which rowdy bicyclists rode through town and on the Boardwalk, prompting police to issue warnings that the actions would not be tolerated. Gaddy took a stand and organized the community event. She said her meetings with Gonzalez to discuss some possibilities for the bike zone have been wonderful. “The stuff we brainstormed -- this will be amazing for the kids. And when people come from out of town and see the kids doing these tricks, it will be so cool,” she added. “No other town is doing this. We are really unifying.” When the May 12 bike event was put together with the help of the Police Department, Gaddy said it improved the way the young bicyclists and police interact. “They are bonding. We loved working with the police on that event. Police Chief (Jay) Prettyman has been on board with us through everything,” Gaddy said. “We are all coming together to help these kids, teach them safety, give them space to express themselves and not make them feel like outcasts.” The Ocean City Tabernacle is located at 550 Wesley Ave.