Since my 4-year-old son recently got a new bicycle and he usually rides back and forth to school on our trailer bike, my wife and I didn’t know if he would be all that excited about National Bike to School Day this morning.
But it didn’t take long for Jackson, tagging along behind Rachel, to get into the act. As we rode, he … loudly … informed everyone we saw walking, driving, or biking that it is Bike to School Day. He may have even told a few squirrels.
Our ride each day goes from Silver Spring, Maryland just over into Takoma Park, in Washington D.C. It’s about a mile-and-a-half through some pretty busy streets, so teaching Jackson all the rules of the road and all about safety is extremely important.
Several of the parents of Jackson’s school, called Takoma Children’s School, brought along their sons and daughters in trailers, on bike seats, and some of the little ones even rode their own bikes. And all the children walked or rode down the street from the school to their playground area, where we all gathered to have our pictures taken and get bike pins and stickers.
There was even a special treat, as Armando Trull from the local National Public Radio affiliate, WAMU-FM 88.5, was there to do a story (listen here) about the health and environmental benefits of biking to school. He did a live segment, interviewing my wife and one of the students, and talking to them about safety. The kids especially liked the part when he asked them to make noise and ring the bells on their bicycles.
Today is the first National Bike to School Day. Through yesterday, more than 700 Bike to School Day events in 49 states and Washington D.C. were registered at www.walkbiketoschool.org. And even if you missed one of today’s events, there are still plenty of options for helping your school children get to enjoy the outdoors and learn about bike safety throughout May, which is National Bike Month.