Walk 'n Roll!

What ARE they teaching kids in school these days! Well, in a couple of Gwinnett County elementary schools--they're learning about bicycling. In the United States, learning to ride a bike is a rite of passage. But even after you master the mechanics, there's a LOT you need to know to take your show . . . well, on the road. Where are kids going to get the information they need? How are they going to feel confident about riding a bike outside of their driveway? Elementary school programs are the best possible solution.
Ready to Roll! The Atlanta Bicycle Campaign (ABC) has joined forces with the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the League of American Cyclists (LAB) to pilot a program called "Safe Routes to School" at a couple of local elementary schools. Mason Elementary is now in the second year of their program, and BB Harris Elementary just kicked off their program in February.
Bike Train leaves the 'hood The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program is part of a national effort to help school children use alternative transportation to get to and from school and home. I’ve been lucky enough to help the ABC with their monthly event called “Walk ‘n Roll”. All Mason ES students can join in this event, and choose to either walk or cycle to and from school.
Walk or Roll . . . just do it! The Gwinnett BUG (Bicycle Users Group), a Gwinnett affiliate of ABC, has been supplying volunteers for this event since May of 2004, and for my money you can’t get a quicker charge of fun and fulfillment. If you’ve forgotten (or never got the chance to discover) how much fun riding to school can be, come on out for the Walk ‘n Roll.
Happy group at the "station" The first time I helped out, I watched as the bike train caught up with the pedestrians. You would have thought that they hadn’t seen each other for years (when it had actually only been about 4 minutes). The kids were so excited to be able to walk and ride to school!
Walk or Roll . . . just do it! I remember when my mother allowed us (finally!) to ride our bikes to school. I grew up in southern California, and attended a private school some distance from our house (I have no idea the actual distance). Anyway, there was much rejoicing in our house on that fateful day. For us, it had the feel of a papal declaration—there was no going back. We had been granted the right to ride our bikes to Our Lady of Perpetual Help Elementary, and there was no stopping us now.
"ok, stay here. I'll be right back with my helmet" The school yard was always full of bicycles, and there was nothing that I wanted more than to park my Stingray alongside all of the others. When the day finally came that we rode out of our neighborhood, I finally understood what freedom meant. I couldn’t have articulated it then—but I couldn’t stop grinning for the entire ride! (A couple of years ago, I started commuting to work by bicycle and got that same feeling all over again)
aaaaaaahhhh . . . memories I’m glad that these school-kids are getting the chance to ride a bike or walk to school. It’s got to be a better alternative in just about every way you can imagine. The kids get a little morning and afternoon exercise and the air is less polluted because there’s fewer cars on the road. And, they get a taste of freedom. Maybe transportation alternatives will be improved in time—maybe they’ll be the ones who insist on having alternatives.
Walk 'n Roll "theme"

aaaaaaahhhh . . . memories

Walk 'n Roll's Poster Child . . .

Walk or Roll . . . just do it!

Hurry Up! There's hot chocolate waiting!

Safe crossings for all

Walk 'n Roll "theme"

Ready to Roll!

Bike Train leaves the 'hood

Happy group at the "station"

I'm back in Atlanta this week, trying to keep that “aloha” feeling. I just spent a week on O'ahu and Hawaii . . .
Hawaii's wild flower -- the Bird of Paradise I've never been to Hawai'i before, but of course I'd heard all the hype—and couldn’t wait to go! Promises of lush foliage, lovely strangers handing out alohas and leis, white and black sand beaches, warm tropical breezes . . . all that stuff. We landed on O'ahu around 8:30pm island time and descended the stairs of the plane to the tarmac. We could feel the warm winds, but thanks to our paranoid pals at Homeland Security, no friendly welcome or tropical flowers greeted us. But the warm weather was heavenly; especially since we’d just left the frozen wasteland of Atlanta (I can hear my MN friends rolling their eyes). Out on Waikiki beach, everyone's out--shopping, walking, and being seen. Except for the lack of casinos, you'd have thought we were on the Las Vegas Strip! Hotels, bars and shoppingshoppingshopping are crammed into just a couple of blocks on the beach. Lots of international visitors, particularly from Japan (it’s so close). There are so many Japanese visitors to Waikiki that everything is translated--except for the street signs. All visitors have to learn a little Hawai'ian . . . On Saturday we picked up our bike rentals, at a little spot not far from our hotel. This is the second time that I’ve had a mountain bike to use on city streets, and I’m beginning to think this isn’t a bad idea. It's a little heavier than my own touring bike, but when you inadvertently ride over curbs or hit a patch of uneven asphalt, the suspension fork and seatpost keeps you from feeling like you’re riding European pave’. Besides, I’M IN HAWAI’I! I don’t want to go fast—I want to soak this all in. For the first few days here, I actually don’t get to play. I’m here for work (!) and duty calls. It’s about a 10-minute ride to the convention center, but I have to go around back to find bicycle parking. And that's where I find the charming, tree-lined, 10-foot-wide path along the Ala Wai canal. (and another warm, tropical breeze)
Ala Wai canal path I enter the convention center from the back, and have to traipse through a long corridor to get to the lobby. And again I come upon a hidden treat! The corridor has been embellished by a local artist, stamped with Polynesian petroglyphs in a multitude of colors. Marching along in a straight line down the concrete block wall is a row of stick figures. Just when you think they’re all identical, you spot one trying to crawl out of line. ~Line Dance~ Then you see the one that’s been turned into a sea turtle, or is transformed into an island lizard.
Leapin' Lizard! The piece is entitled “Hā (Breath of Life)”, done by Brendt Berger in 1998. This corridor is rarely seen by visitors to the convention center—it’s a back hallway that the staff use—so I’m feeling particularly lucky this day. Once I get free of my work responsibilities, we can explore the island. O’ahu isn’t very big, and easy to get around on bicycles. In fact, I’d recommend it. The city is very bike-friendly, and there are bike racks every few feet.
the future of bike parking We left Waikiki behind (all shopped out), and cycled through Ala Moana park (and beach),
Ala Moana Park (and beach) University of Hawai’i, downtown Honolulu Kamehameha III (and friends) (aren’t they a handsome group?) the Foster Botanical Garden (don’t miss the Cannonball tree), and Chinatown. If you go to C-town, don’t miss dim sum at Legends Chinese restaurant. If you’re feeling adventurous, sit so you can watch the staff maneuver the rolling food carts. We sat at the intersection of two aisles and caught the whole show. Much of the food had unfamiliar names, and so I was amused to find myself eating (and enjoying) what by any other name would be a BBQ pork sandwich! There were a couple of young women sitting next to us who spoke to each other and to the restaurant staff in both Chinese and English—sometimes in the same sentence. They said they were “starving”, and proceeded to have one of just about everything on the menu—-dim sum’s nice that way. Nuulanu River view in Chinatown There's no way to really capture the beauty of the Hawaiian islands on film; it's best seen in person. That said, I couldn't stop taking pictures--but I also plan on going back--as soon as possible. There's a lot more island to discover. Aloha. Gonecycling.
Kona coffee plantation dolls
View from the Honolulu Convention Center

Sunset . . . Aloha!

Nuulanu River view in Chinatown

Diamond Head Community Garden

Kona coffee plantation dolls

Hawaii's wild flower -- the Bird of Paradise

the future of bike parking

Mindanao gum tree