 Bike Smart! Youth Bicycle Safety
Program coordinates with schools and community organizations
to teach bicycling skills to Santa Cruz County
youth.
The Bike Smart! program has established several health and safety related goals. We encourage you to learn more about our program goals, as well as contact us to find out how you can support our work.
Interested in getting involved? Learn about volunteer opportunities.
News!
Bay View Elementary 5th Graders Go on Bike Smart! Pedal-Powered Field Trip—Community Ride and Fender Blender Fruit Smoothies
“This is what they’ll remember,” said Mr. B about his class’ recent bicycle field trip to the Santa Cruz Lighthouse. Indeed, learning experiences like this are unique in a child’s education. This November, Stu Branoff’s 5th grade students participated in  in-depth bicycle training by Ecology Action’s Bike Smart! Youth Bicycle Safety Education Program, which culminated in a community ride to West Cliff Drive.
On a sparkly crisp autumn day, the 23 students, accompanied by five adult ride leaders, set out on bike from the school. The route through the neighborhood was peaceful, punctuated only by the enthusiastic calls of the young bicyclists as they communicated with each other on the group ride: “stopping!”… “right turn!”… “caaaarrrr!”, peppered with the occasional “hey, that’s my ‘uncle’s’ house”.
“I feel like a mother duck leading a train of duckling on these community rides,” Saskia Lucas says, grinning. Saskia runs Bike Smart! and is the program’s lead instructor. “It’s really cute and wonderful to see youth out exploring their world by bike and being such responsible and safety-minded cyclists.”
However, the riding didn’t finish when the group arrived at Lighthouse Field. On the ride, Bike Smart! staff had pedaled a special bicycle equipped with a bike-powered blender, as well as a trailer carrying a cooler filled with fresh fruit, yogurt, juices and reusable cups. It was a recipe for…fender blender smoothies! Student took turns pedaling madly to crank out refreshing and healthy smoothies which were enjoyed by all.
The four-part Bike Smart! training, funded by a federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Grant, included: a classroom presentation—a theoretical introduction of bicycle safety; bicycle skills obstacle course (a.k.a. “rodeo”)—on-bike practice; community ride practice—on-road drills of safe cycling technique; and community ride. Targeted skills included: making hand-signals, doing shoulder checks and obeying traffic laws.
Since the Bike Smart! events, Mr. B reports hearing, “many students say that they use the skills they have learned on the community ride while they are bicycling on their own or with their friends and family. Combining the use of the Bike Blender with the community ride was [also] a great way to reinforce the health factor of the event.”
That’s music to Saskia’s ears. “It’s a win-win for everyone. We achieve our goal of developing responsible and skillful young bicyclists and promoting healthy life-styles and the kids really have fun. My goal is that some day every child gets the opportunity to experience this kind of fun and meaningful in-depth bicycle education.”
To see more photos from the event, visit the Gallery page on the Bike Smart! website.
For more information about Ecology Action’s Safe Routes to School programs and for bicycle safety resources, visit www.SafeRoutesSantaCruz.org.
Program Goals:
- Reduce the collision rates of young bicyclists
- Increase safe, legal bicycling practices among youth
- Increase use and proper fit of bicycle helmets
- Advocate and empower youth to use bicycles for transportation
- Promote exercise and healthy life-styles through bicycling
- Educate youth to Share the Road as bicyclists and future motorists
- Inform participants of local bicycling resources: bicycle routes, organizations and events
- Generate interest in safe, recreational bicycling
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