Concord Elementary School, located in South Park, is participating in Cascade’s Basics of Bicycling program this year, but they are doing things a little differently. Instead of offering the course through a P.E. class as is usually done, avid cyclist and 5th grade teacher Kate Ayers has taken the bike program on as part of her regular curriculum, offering it to her class as well as another 5th grade class and two after school groups (one 3rd grade & one 4th).

Lucky for me, this meant that she needed some extra hands to help her with the program. Thus I spent last Thursday out in the tentative early spring sun running around on a playground, holding stop signs, fitting helmets, and reveling in the contagious joy of kids on wheels.

There were four consecutive classes of about 25 kids each. In the session we were working on “scanning” (for cars, pedestrians, etc.) and “rock dodge” (avoiding road hazards). I was impressed at the caliber of riding I saw, even from kids who had just tried two wheels for the first time the week before.

The bikes are here!

Kate, teaching the Rock Dodge.

It’s that time of year again… Every Friday morning I get up earlier than usual and blearily ride to the office to meet our trusty trailer driver Dave, where we get in the van and hit the road for another exciting day of bike deliveries.

These days are spent picking up and dropping off bikes at elementary schools around the Seattle, Lake Washington, and Highline school districts. There they are used for Cascade’s Basics of Bicycling program, a bike safety and basic riding skills course taught as part of the physical education curriculum sponsored by Group Health.

After delivering all of last fall, the routine has worked itself into my bones — pick up bikes at one school, inventory supplies and helmets, fix any basic maintenance problems (those loose chains are killer!), load them into the 20-foot bike trailer, and take them to the next school where we drop them off. We visit four schools in one day, fixing all the bikes on the road so they’re ready to ride right away. It’s pretty awesome to see how thrilled the kids are when the trailer pulls up — probably the closest I’ll ever get to being a celebrity!