Pedaling Purpose
In communities throughout Indianapolis and beyond, Nine13sports has found a way to get kids excited about going to school. The Indianapolis-based organization uses the bike as an educational tool in schools and community centers all across Indiana. Whether it’s stationary riding in school gyms, building bikes, or exploring Indianapolis on two wheels, Nine13sports engages kids physically and mentally and gets them excited to learn.
“We really believe that the bicycle is the ultimate equalizer. It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care about the student’s background or shape or size or color. What it does is it creates an opportunity not just in that moment, but for a lifetime,” says Nine13sports CEO Tom Hanley. “The bicycle is also this incredible tool that can be used for education, for fitness and for transportation, and it’s something you can do from when you’re the littlest of ages — just a couple years old — until the day you die.”
Hanley founded Nine13sports in 2011 following his career as a four-time national champion track cyclist while at Marian University. In his travels across the country during that time, he saw how different cities and communities engaged kids with a bike — something Indianapolis lacked. After a commercial vehicle accident that ended his career as a cyclist, he decided to give back to the Indianapolis community through Nine13sports.
Nine13sports serves kids in multiple programs, including “Kids Riding Bikes,” which in 2012 started it all. This program has become the largest, with more than 45,000 students participating each year. Primarily offered in physical education classes at school, the program sets up stationary bike-riding simulators where the kids go through challenges like a video game.
“The positive feedback we always heard was that we could not finish up a school site before that P.E. teacher, that principal or the kids themselves were asking when the bikes were going to come back,” Hanley says. “And that’s when I knew we were onto something.”
After feedback from partners asking what comes next for kids without a bike at home, “Kids Building Bikes” launched in 2018. The hands-on program, designed for fourth graders and older, further educates kids on building their own bike, which they take home with them after graduating from the program. Along with their brand-new skills and bike, the students learn skills for the workforce and get to explore a potential career path they may never have considered before.
“The students we serve have a variety of backgrounds, not always the easiest of backgrounds,” Hanley says. “But to be able to see them be kids, to be able to see them do something new, to be able to see them challenge themselves and find success, that’s the most rewarding thing to me: to see the smile on the student’s face as they pedal out on bikes for the first time.”
Nine13sports planted roots on its 29th and the Canal property in 2018 with the plan to bring back to life an unused 130-year-old building to give it a new purpose for the neighborhood. And in fall 2026, Nine13sports is excited to launch its expansion, the “Skills and Safety Park,” which will be a safe place for anyone in the community to ride bikes. The park will include asphalt trails, dirt trails, tunnel areas and so much more for the city to enjoy.
This summer, Nine13sports will also house its own bike camps for the first time at its 29th and the Canal location. These will be one-week camps for kids to explore Indianapolis, learn to fix their bikes and learn the history of the city along the way.
With everything Nine13sports is doing for kids across Indianapolis and beyond, there are a lot of ways to get involved. Hanley encourages people who get excited about bikes to participate in some way, whether through volunteering or giving.
“If any individual is excited about the bicycle or excited about being able to serve youth, we’d love to hear from them,” Hanley says. “They can reach out to us through our website, through our contact us page, and we’d love to learn what really intrigues them and how we can best utilize their passion.”
Nine13sports is located at 1271 W. 29th St. in Indianapolis. To learn more about Nine13sports’ programs or to get involved, call 317-735-3121, email info@nine13sports.org or visit its website at nine13sports.org.
