Saturday, February 12, 2011

Recipe for a Bike Club


Children participating in a bicycle safety program run by the police in New York, 1945
Bicycle Education comes in many shapes and colors: Above a glimpse of a program offered more than 60 years ago in New York. Today we may do things differently: We signal a left turn with the left hand, and we know that when we put a few cyclists in a room together, they will soon find plenty to talk about. A school based bike club is a great opportunity for our young cyclists to learn from the mistakes and misfortunes of their peers, to become knowledgeable about their bike, and to better understand how to communicate with car drivers in traffic. 
So what would be the ingredients for a student run bike club at middle school level? 
A pair of  presidents, a webmaster, an event planner, an education committee, a membership director, a Safe Routes to School coordinator, a Bike Community Liaison officer, a Spoke Card designer, and a photographer, the flat tire expert and the ball bearing expert, the quick release master and the gender equality officer. And more. (The League of American Bicyclists has a many resources here http://www.bikeleague.org/action/creategroup/ )


The search has begun for a good name for a bike club at Santa Monica Alternative School. Will you help us find a smashing name? What responsibility do you want to take? In which area do you want to lead?



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