Hold onto your handle bars as you ride into this bike party!

“Look at me, Mom!” laughed my son as he rode past me on his little blue bike without training wheels.  “No hands!”. At that moment I realised by 3.5 year old was destined to ride his bike as far as he could and do as many tricks as he could to make my heart stop. So when it came to the theme for his 5^th birthday party this year and gift ideas for that party everything was quite simple.  A red bike and a bike party of course!

The beauty of this theme is that you can use it for a birthday party or even just a playdate. Biking has become a very popular sport and is a theme that can really be a hit with kids of all ages, boys and girls!

My biggest tip is to call your local bike park or your favourite park.  You will find that a lot of these venues cater specifically for parties allowing you to set up, sit back and relax.  For Alexander everything pointed to the Cycle Lab Bike Park in Bryanston. The kids were absolutely exhausted from all the entertainment making them ravenous for food and drinks afterwards.

The weather for Alexander’s birthday was incredibly hot.  But thanks to the Cycle Lab Bike Park they have shade nets, umbrellas and boma’s of different sizes to cater for every party.  They were most accommodating.

The Cycle Lab Bike Park offers various packages that have different benefits.  One of my favourite additions is the outride they take the kids on. They all go in a long line, young or old, and find some sweets along Spaghetti Junction (a kids favourite trail) and a few of the smaller and further trails. I then added an additional outride for the older kids on the bigger trails which they also loved.

Alexander’s bike party decorations were a complete DIY party from start to finish. There are absolutely no bike themed table clothes or paper plates anywhere, I couldn’t even find a picture. So for Alexanders 5th birthday he got a red SIGNAL bike and a blue helmet.  We chose a little boy with big brown eyes and a blue shirt, riding a red bike as the focus point of the party.  It couldn’t look more like him.

For the base of the party we had very bright green, orange, purple, yellow and blue table cloths decorated with different sized wheel spokes that we cut out of cardboard. On the main treat table we displayed the Cake. The Cake was an absolute beauty as Straw-ba-berry always produce.  Kirsten, the baker, took in all the elements of the invitation and even cut the little “Alex” on his red bike in Perspex to make sure he was on the cake too. To compliment the cake I had Bears Bakery make the most gorgeous bicycle cupcakes to Alexanders specifications.

The basic decor consisted of the above mentioned coloured table cloths. Tarryn – my DIY designer best friend had the brilliant idea of ordering silver wheels with spokes to act as centre pieces for the table. We ordered green handle bars to hold up little signs such as no parking, 5 speed limit and stop. When you go to a bike event you get little numbers cable tied to the front of your bike.  We made little signs that we had laminated and attached them to the kids bikes so that everyone could know the child’s name and know which party they belonged to. We found these gorgeous luminous stars which stick to the spokes of your bike and gave each child some for their bike. When you ride it looks like little rainbows on the wheels.

Along with the invitation we made a photo frame and a banner saying Happy birthday Alex .  We also took some polystyrene letters and spray painted them bright colours and stuck black vinyl cut bicycles all over them.  I would love a Cricut for these. These are Simple DIY pieces too and are easily customisable to any theme you have.  When deciding how to finish it all off we had a giant 5 rainbow balloon and little colourful stars on the tables as confetti to match the spoke stars.

The party packs were a hit.  Cycle Lab bike park along with their bike package, offer pre packed party packs of a Cycle Lab water bottle and a few sweets inside.  I decided to get some easy bright red draw string bags and have each child’s name cut in vinyl and ironed onto the bags. Inside the bag we put in a packet of chips, a chocolate, a sour sweet and the Cycle Lab water bottle. We added a “thanks for riding by Alex’s party sign” tied on with green ribbon.

Besides the biking, ramping and treasure hunting the kids played they enjoyed an indestructible rainbow piñata we put a black cardboard spoke on to look like a wheel.  It made for a huge amount of fun from the kids and parents alike and I eventually had to break it to get the sweets out.

Cycle Lab bike park have a restaurant on site called Fixies Deck.  Eric the manager was unbelievable in accommodating us and all sorts of dietary requests.  From experience over the last few years kids and parents alike rarely eat and you are left with so many leftovers.  We went the simple route of ordering boerewors rolls and had soft drink bar. They also have a complete bar and menu for any additional orders you require.  Because it was so hot we ordered an extra bucket of ice creams and lollies. The part comes with a hostess who was most helpful and did the whole catering set up for us. The boerewors rolls were pre made in the kitchen and brought in silver heating dishes along with all the sides and sauces.  They are enormous, so while being very filling I had them cut in half for the kids and that was more than sufficient. Their amenities are clean and comfortable and even if it rains you will be sure to be covered in their deck areas overlooking the tracks.  The staff are professional, kind, friendly and definitely know how to make you feel welcome and comfortable.

Once your children know how to comfortably ride a bike you can feel comfortable leaving them to their own devices on the tracks while you work.  Or you could jump on a bike with them on the trails or like me, run along side them.  The Cycle Lab bike park caters for everyone from young to old and it never gets boring.

Just as riding a bicycle never gets old nor does the Cycle Lab Bike Park.

https://www.bikepark.co.za/

We always want you to enjoy your Cycle Lab Bike Park adventure and appreciate any feedback that will improve the overall experience.

Peak Season:
September – April | 6am – 6pm

Low Season:
May – August | 7am – 6pm

* The park does stay open later on occasion to facilitate night riding, see the calendar for upcoming events.

1A Libertas Street, off Sloane Street
Bryanston
Gauteng
South Africa