I used to be one of those people who hugged the right curb...

The District PTSA offered a very successful bike education and encouragement event on 2 October. Sustainable Streets presented a Bike Safety Skills Workshop to a packed classroom of about 35 SMMUSD middle and high school students and their parents, with an age range of 9 to 40 years old.  The group included lots of kids who have been cycling with their parents in preparation for Bike It! Day October 13. Everyone had great questions on the rules of the road, hair raising bike crash stories, and lots of enthusiasm for cycling to school.  After adjusting helmets and checking bikes, the group headed outside to practice key safe cycling skills to scan, signal, stop and turn left at an intersection. 

Among the kids’ enthusiastic comments on the class evaluation form were “Awesome fun!” and “I loved this class!”  Parents were equally positive, saying “This is so valuable. I used to be one of those people who hugged the right curb; now I know why that’s not a good idea.”  This was the second two Bike Safety Skills Workshops, the precious one was held at Lincoln Middle Schools, taught by League Certified Instructors from Sustainable Streets. Some of the participants raised the idea of setting up a bike club at the school, which would offer more opportunities for advanced training. The complete course (10 hrs) of confident city cycling is usually taught over two weekends and includes an official certificate.

Many thanks to the PTSA, JAMS and Lincoln Middle school staff, and the students and their parents for supporting this workshop to promote safe cycling by our students!  Hope to see you all at Bike IT Walk IT Day on October 13.  We are expecting record participation by every SMMUSD elementary and middle school in Santa Monica and by SAMOHI, whose Solar Alliance Student Group started the Bike IT movement four years ago.