Bike Bus participants get ready to ride to the Manor School last spring. Photo by Hannah Baker
BY HANNAH BAKER
Every Friday morning last spring, I loaded mine and my second grader’s bikes onto our car, drove from our home to the Flaherty’s parking lot, then biked with him and his cousin from the Flaherty’s parking lot to the Manor School. Rain or shine (mostly rain, as it seemed the rain always waited until Friday morning right around 8:15am), we rode the 10 minutes to the school. Sometimes the boys grumbled at getting a bit soggy from the rain, but by the time we got to school, they were inevitably smiling and energized, ready to start their school day.
Though our family lives a very bikeable distance from school (1.8 miles), the traffic and car speed on Quaker Meeting House and Cheese Factory Roads disqualify us from biking safely to school. I was dreaming of ways to solve my problem when I learned about something called a Bike Bus. Bike Bus is a global movement that encourages families to reclaim a practice that used to be more commonplace: biking to school. National statistics show that in 1969, 48% of kids biked to school, and in 2009 that number was down to 13%. These numbers stand in contrast to evidence showing that participation in physical activity prepares children to be better learners during the school day. Biking to school has also been shown to improve the health and wellbeing of children, and research suggests that if children walk or bike to school at a young age, they are more likely to continue the healthy habit as they get older.
But the majority of students in our district have the same problem as my family: they live too far, or on too dangerous of roads, to bike or walk safely to school. Thus was born the Manor School Bike Bus. Several Fridays last spring we were joined by other families interested in the same things we were: encouraging active transportation for our kids and building community. We played fun music and rode our bikes to school, and everyone (well maybe just me, but I think everyone) ended up in a better mood than when they started.
This year, with support of the Manor School administration, we hope to grow the Manor School Bike Bus, because more people = more fun. Parents can register their children for the Bike Bus here: https://tinyurl.com/2xe9fyhm (one registration for the entire year, join just once, twice, or every week!) Anyone can join in on the ride, whether you live in the Village of Honeoye Falls or not. In fact, the Manor Bike Bus is specifically set up to encourage kids in our rural district to experience the joy of riding their bike to school, no matter where they live.
In addition to Manor School families, the Manor Bike Bus relies on adult volunteers to help get kids to and from school safely. Bike Bus “Drivers” ride in front or in back of the group, help keep kids safely together along the ride, and hang back with stragglers if someone is slow, has a flat tire, etc. If you don’t have kids in the schools, but can ride a bike, please consider joining us and helping make sure kids get to school safely! You can sign up for one or more rides here: https://tinyurl.com/emmx347n
Ultimately, I see the Bike Bus as a great way to promote biking not only for my own kids, but as a community-oriented activity throughout our school district. So let’s work together to help our kiddos get to school in the most fun way possible: one Bike Bus ride at a time!
For more information about the Manor School Bike Bus, email manorbikebus@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram: @manorbikebus
Bike Buses exist all over the world, and the Manor School Bike Bus is just one small part of a larger global movement. If you’re interested in learning more about the Bike Bus movement, check out https://bikebus.world/
