Ask anyone who rides a bike about their first experience, and you’ll likely hear words like “freedom”, “flying” and “sheer joy.” Yet according to a recent article from the League of American Bicyclists, the number of kids that ride a bike is dwindling to the extent that less than half of American children will ride a bike at all this year.
Our Safe Routes to School (SRTS) staff sees this reflected in our fourth grade on-bike classes, or “Bike Rodeos,” at the 40-plus schools we serve in Sonoma County. Ten years ago, it was unusual to have more than two students in a class that did not know how to ride. Compare this to last spring’s program, where we often had six non-riders.
The Learn to Ride program was created in 2020, when SRTS saw an opportunity to reach children while schools were closed due to the Covid pandemic. Offered through local parks and recreation departments, classes are held monthly on Wednesdays at Finley Park in Santa Rosa, Keiser Park in Windsor, and Lucchesi Park in Petaluma. Classes are limited to six kids ages 5 to 11, and are led by two Safe Routes instructors. Students bring their own bikes and helmets and must be accompanied by at least one adult.
We use a hands-off, two-stage method, removing training wheels and pedals to start, creating a “scoot” or “strider” bike until the child develops the balance needed to coast. In stage two, the pedals are reattached, and our rider is off!
The program has been a huge success, and we are happy to have helped hundreds of Sonoma County kids learn to experience the joy of riding a bike.
–Cindy O’Grady, Safe Routes to School educator