Biking to school is a great part of our family routine. My son and I gather bikes, helmets, locks and backpacks, and we’re off. We’re able to stick to mostly quiet routes, and we get off our bikes to cross the one busy intersection. Biking to school allows us to skip the dreaded car drop-off and pick-up lines, and to spend great time together.
There are many reasons to tune up the bikes and roll with kids: It gets you all outside, it’s good for your health, and it’s good for the environment. And there’s no better time to encourage family biking — May is National Bike to School Month, an opportunity to launch a child’s lifelong love of cycling.
Just do it
Many schools in Seattle and throughout Puget Sound have a Bike to School Day on their calendars (May 7 this year), but why not make it a month-long family challenge? To get started, consider mapping your route on a weekend test-ride, when it’s quieter and you have more time to find the best way to school.
For my family, biking to school provides an excellent boost to start our day, and the research supports this. According to a study of 20,000 Danish kids ages 5 to 19, biking to school increases blood flow to the brain and boosts concentration, which in turn helps kids with their schoolwork.
Bike Ed for every student
If there’s no better time than May to start biking to school, there’s no better place than Seattle. Next year, Seattle will be the first and “only school district in the United States that will offer bike and pedestrian safety education to every student,” says Lori Dunn, manager of Seattle Public Schools Physical Education and Health Literacy Program.
Edmonds School District also offers students bike safety education in PE classes. “We are arming students with the skills and content knowledge to be safely physically active for a lifetime,” adds Dunn.
Returning to a childhood right of passage
For many parents, including myself, biking feels different today than when we were kids. “When I was young, we biked everywhere and learning to ride was a normal rite of passage for many children,” says Paul Tolme, spokesperson for Cascade Bicycle Club. “But over the decades that changed due to heightened safety concerns and changes in parenting and society.”
To address those changes, and following the lead of Seattle and Edmonds school districts, Washington is now partnering with Cascade Bicycle Club to expand bike education to school kids statewide.
Getting started
If getting your kids to bike every day is a hurdle, consider inviting their friends (and their friends’ parents) to join your morning ride. Biking as a family allows you to model how to ride safely. Put on helmets together and do an ABC Quick Check (air, brakes, chain, and quick release). Here are a few more tips:
- Set cycling ground rules and safety expectations.
- Take it slow — start with short rides, then expand as kids build confidence.
- Involve kids in cycling choices: what color bike do they like, which helmet, what snacks, even what kind of bell.
Don’t stop
So you rode to school in May; what could be better? How about continuing to ride in June and returning to school by bicycle in September? Trick out your bikes as a family, encourage your kids to make their bikes their own, and roll out some exciting, unforgettable adventures over the summer. You’ll be teaching lasting habits for improved health and freedom.
