Tuesday, May 04, 2010

May 4 - Safe Routes: Day 2

It was the best of days, it was the worst of days.  Shelley (the PE teacher) and I finally have the course curriculum down pretty well so that it works with well-behaved students.  Not surprisingly the biggest behavior problems were with a group of students that don't ride or walk.  Still trying to find the right memory card to upload pictures with.  Maybe tomorrow.  Weather was beautiful today, but only saw 2 bikes in the rack.  One belongs to a young man named Kirk who rides every day on a too-small BMX bike.  Haven't met the other student yet, the bike's a bit rusty so it may not be in regular use.  Hard to believe that out of 600 students only 2 are biking, only a few more are walking.  From informal surveys it appears that about half of the students live within a mile of the school but parents are afraid to let kids walk or bike because of fears of stranger danger and traffic.  Hopefully when they see how many kids want to do it, they'll make the changes to get kids going to school under their own power.
Going for a ride from the local shop tonite with  my host and the local shop owner.  More tomorrow.
Nick

1 comment:

Eastern Panhandle Bicycle Co said...

Thank Nick for coming to ride with us at Eastern Panhandle Bicycle and thank you for what you are doing for the community....we know you won't get through to all the kids, but I guarantee you will make a difference for a few. Awesome ride you did on a mtn bike with a bunch of road bike guys (not being clipped in at that!!!)