Andrew DaSilva (pictured above) and I have been giving classes here since Monday to the 1070 elementary students at Olive Chapel School. We've gotten through 750 students, with the rest scheduled tomorrow before we return home. We started early on Monday with 6 classes in a row of all grades (K-5). Katy Caggia, PE teacher and Reed Huegerich, city planner and grant coordinator - met us and we got the gym setup and the course marked with pylons and tape. A full day of elementary kids is grueling in a joyful way. These kids are beautiful, even the squirrely ones. The days have ended well, though usually we take a nap and an evening ride to restore our balance and get ready for the next day. Hard to believe we've seen every one of 750 kids, and that they've learned things that they'll be able to use for the rest of their lives. Teaching's cool that way.
Tonite we left the van at the school and rode our bikes home the 4 miles from school. Since tomorrow's our last day we'll check out in the morning to leave for Martinsville. There we're visiting a raw food friend of mine for an evening, before returning to Morgantown. I'll back to open the shop on Saturday at 10am for volunteers and 1pm for customers. See you then.
Side story:
Why I'm here - Last July Bruce Rosar was tragically struck and killed at an intersection near here. Bruce had been a lifetime advocate for cycling to all ages. He was an instructor, Bike League board member and on every advocacy and riding group he could find. I met him about a month before at an instructors' conference in San Jose, CA. At the location of his death there is a ghost bike (above) that I ride past every day on the way to school, you can read about Bruce at this link and this link. Bruce would have been the instructor at this school, I'm grateful for the chance to take his place while deeply saddened by his loss. It's been a sober reminder that we all need to look out for each other on the roads, whatever vehicle we're in. Mostly I hope it will remind us to always appreciate the vitality and joy we give each other by our living presence, friendship and inspiration.
Nick
Article on Bike Commuting in today's Chicago Sun-Times.
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