Reading, Writing, and Riding a Bike

I know that I often talk about how much I love my job and here is an awesome article about one of our latest projects, a 10 hour bicycle education program that we put together for fifth graders in Folsom, originally published in Kaiser's Pedal Power Bicycle Newsletter, put together by Dave Cassel.

Students learned safe riding skills using their own bikes, along with a few loaned bikes for those who didn't have one.

Taking bicycle education seriously.

Who loves biking? We do!!!

Reading, Writing and Riding a Bike 
Folsom’s Gold Ridge Elementary institutes Project Bike Smart 
By Rebecca Garrison, 50 Corridor TMA 

Rebecca Garrison is the Executive Director of the 50 Corridor TMA and has been an active supporter of bicycling throughout the 50 Corridor for many years. She is also a key member of the region’s May Is Bike Month team. ​Photo credits to the incredibly talented Dave Cassel. 

Utilizing curriculum based on the North Natomas TMA's Project Ride Smart and their newly published educational video.

"I love biking, this much!"

Gold Ridge Elementary School Principal David Frankel has a one-word answer as to why he and the school’s PTA instituted Project Bike Smart to their fifth grade students: traffic.  “Gold Ridge has huge traffic problems associated with drop off and pick up,” he said. “On days when all 600 students arrive and leave at the same time, it’s a mess. Long waits. Snarled traffic. Safety issues.”  Of the 600 students, only about 10 ride bikes to school and a small number walk, yet 90 percent of the school’s students live within walking/biking range in a neighbor-hood that is bicycle friendly.  “We wanted to teach students bike education with the hope of getting more students to ride by themselves or with their parents to school,” said Frankel, noting that last year a student was hit by a car while cycling to school.  “That was a wakeup call to me that instruction in safety practices was needed,” said Frankel. 
In the summer of 2015, Frankel contacted the 50 Corridor Transportation Management Association for assistance. 

Checking their helmet fit with the "2-finger rule."

Watching the watermelon drop.

“The TMA has implemented active transportation programs at both Sunrise Elementary and Navigator Elementary in Rancho Cordova since those two schools first opened their doors,” said Rebecca Garrison, Executive Director of the 50 Corridor TMA. “We were eager to initiate a Project Bike Smart program in a 50 Corridor elementary school but finding a school that had the ability to give us 10 hours of classroom time during the school year was challenging. When Principal Frankel and PTA parent Hanh Xiong approached us about bringing Project Bike Smart to Gold Ridge, I knew we had to find a way to make it happen.”  Xiong, an employee of Kaiser Permanente’s Folsom Medical Office Building (MOB) on Iron Point, was familiar with the TMA’s bicycle education program for adults through the regular bicycle safety clinics taught at Kaiser Folsom MOB, a silver level Bicycle Friendly Business. Garrison worked with the PTA, the Sacramento Air Quality Management District and the City of Folsom to build the $10,000 funding source needed for Project Bike Smart. Utilizing the skills of local League Cycling Instructor (LCI) Elle Steele, the project was scoped and ready for roll-out the first week of March. 

Practicing handling skills on the blacktop.

“I was amazed at how comprehensive the bicycle education program provided by Elle Steele and her LCI team was,” said Frankel. “Students learned and mastered a range of safety practices from scanning and merging to lane use, right of way rules, and much more. The differentiated approach of instruction for beginners through advanced students matched students to the instruction they needed.”  The parent volunteers and the members of the LCI Team who worked with students over the two week course noted that all students made huge progress and dramatically improved their proficiency in biking safely in the community.  “I was thrilled to see children who were timid and uneducated about cycling on streets become much more confident and capable,” said Ken Walker of the LCI Team and an Intel bicycle commuter. “And, it was great to see a school with parents and staff that supported the students in those efforts. No doubt that some children will start biking to school as a result.” 

The Project Bike Smart program was patterned after a program developed by the North Natomas TMA where their program tackles at least four elementary schools each year.  “Children and bicycles are a natural combination,” said Steele, lead instructor for the program. “Bicycles are often someone’s first taste of freedom, a vehicle for exploration and experiences that can’t be found in front of a television or from the backseat of a car. Since many people are never taught proper bicycling education, there are a lot of misconceptions about safe bicycling behavior, both from cyclists and car drivers. It’s important to educate everyone but it’s easiest to reach people when they are young.” Steele noted that children are the most vulnerable and tend to make impulsive decisions when they don’t know better. By reaching them early, they will know safer behaviors from the beginning, making them safer drivers of bicycles and, if they choose so later, of cars. “Fifth grade is the perfect time to teach bicycle education,” said Steele,” as that’s the age when many children begin to be able to judge traffic speeds and situations. Once bike riders can ride faster than walking speed, it’s actually safer for them to be riding as a vehicle with the flow of traffic, as long as they know the proper ways to do so.” 

More than 90 Gold Ridge students completed the 10 hours of bicycle education which included classroom instruction, blacktop handling skills and on-the-street riding. “At the start of the program, the students were wobbly on their bicycles and had no concept of road rules,” said Steele. “By the end of the program, they could scan, signal, and choose proper lane positions while riding, and recite the right-of-way rules better than most adults.” 

Principal Frankel was incredibly supportive, encouraging, and actively engaged in the bicycle safety education of his students.

“Students’ favorite experience is always the street ride. It’s wonderful to hear the connections they are making as they pass by their local parks and sometimes even their homes. By the time they’re back at school, they are realizing that bicycles are not just for fun but also a viable source of transportation.” --Lead Instructor Elle Steele 

Exploring their community by bike during class time!

“The bright smiles that beamed from the students were one indication that Project Bike Smart was having a positive impact. The look of satisfaction on their faces showed the deeper meaning to their lives at the end of the three days of accomplishment on the street rides.” --LCI Manuel De Aquino

Steele acknowledged that it’s a lot for fifth–graders to learn – most critically, how to keep themselves safe! 
“I wish these responsibilities didn’t fall on the most vulnerable users of the roads, as our street designs and traffic laws should be designed to protect them and not just be focused on moving motor vehicles faster. With proper bike infrastructure like connected bike paths and protected bike lanes, streets would be safer for all users of the road and put less stress on children who should be simply enjoying the freedom and joy that bicycles bring.” 

​Fortunately, the neighborhood around Gold Ridge is more bicycle friendly than most. “Our school was built to be the hub of the neighborhood,” said Principal Frankel. “Increasing safe cycling to school will improve the quality of life in the neighborhood, reduce congestion associated with drop off and pick up, and hopefully connect families and students better.” One Bike Smart parent volunteer has already formed a mini bike group to ride to school together each morning. “The most common response to youth bike education programs from parents is that they would love to let their kids ride but are too afraid of the traffic dangers,” said Steele. “That’s ironic because their solution is to drive their children instead, which creates more traffic. There are always many misconceptions about how bike riders should behave. As the students go home and share their experiences and knowledge from this class, parents should begin to see that their children can be trusted as responsible bicycle riders and that there are other options than driving everywhere. We do a lot of un-teaching of improper behaviors from both the students and their parents, like stressing to never, ever ride on the wrong side of the road.” And while Frankel is thrilled about the newly educated and skilled cyclists returning to their normal 5th-grade curriculum next week, traffic is still on his mind.  “I’m looking forward to seeing how many more students ride their bikes to school over the coming months. We would love to secure on-going funding for this program next year so we can continue to address our traffic concerns and strengthen safe routes for students on bikes."