LeBron James teams up with Lyft to provide NYC locals free one-year bike memberships

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James has a habit of surprising teenagers at Harlem YMCA. James visited them to share his love for bikes. The 35-year-old teamed up with the company Lyft so that they can give out free Citi Bike memberships to local teenagers during spring. 

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The teenagers were unaware of LeBron James' attendance. However, the kids grew excited when a video about kids biking with a LeBron James voiceover. All the kids cheered when James himself walked in after the video. James and the Lakers were in New York for the Knicks vs Lakers game on Wednesday night (Thursday morning IST). 

LeBron James has always spoken about his love for cycling. He would occasionally ride back from his NBA games while with the Miami Heat. James also used to ride when he was a kid and lived in Ohio. Riding bikes is a special memory for the three-time NBA Champion. While on stage, James stated that bikes enabled him to travel across the city with his friends and helped him commute to his school and basketball practices. James called bikes a 'segue' which helped him do many things and something that he carried on for the rest of his life. James still has a few bikes in Akron, but he stopped riding after he left Florida. 

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While talking about his experience with bikes, LeBron James also talked about safety and its importance. He stated that safety should always come first and hence bike lanes are extremely important. He even added that bike lanes are equally important for adults. 

Lyft posted about the free membership on their blog post. According to the post, locals between 16 and 20 years of age can sign up for free membership. However, the total number of free memberships which will be handed out were not revealed. Lyft also revealed that 50 teenagers present at the Harlem YMCA were gifted their first one-year memberships.

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