The Bright Bicycling Future

Kids are our best hope for the future. They'll carry what they learn in childhood forward into adulthood, which is why cigarette companies are banned from marketing to children. Fortunately, no such stricture exists against teaching children how to bike for transportation, and I recently had the opportunity to observe some bike brainwashing education in action.

Eileen Hyatt, a board member who lives in Spokane, arranged for me to visit Farwell Elementary School for the week of September 13. There I had the pleasure of learning from Eileen and observing and assisting in Farwell's week-long bike PE class. Here’s what I saw.

Kids learning how to keep their shoelaces from becoming safety hazards...

Kids being visible -- or invisible -- on a road-like background...

Kids learning how to stop quickly...

Kids learning (or not learning) how to signal turns...

Kids looking behind while riding straight...

Kids waiting their turns and communicating non-verbally on the "road"...

Kids cooperating as a team to avoid hazards on the "road" while all getting to their destinations safely...

Kids signaling their turns and positioning themselves appropriately in lanes...

And kids having fun!

...or not.

Based on what I saw in Spokane that week, I’d say the future looks pretty bright.