Today was one of those days and events that really lightens the load and makes the heart joyful. BicycleHaywoodNC members were able to fulfill a grant born in the spring of 2011. Healthy Haywood made the grant to the advocacy council last spring in order to add to and replace part of an aging fleet of bicycles for the local school system.
(Clyde Elementary phys ed students run to 15 new bikes!)
On this bright and sunny day, the 15 bikes and 15 helmets were delivered…
to the Clyde Elementary school where P.E. teacher Stephen Sharpe was instructing students on how to ride a bicycle. Every 4th grade student in the school system receives this instruction. Sharpe and Principal Dr. Pam Justice certainly had their hands full as they corralled the very excited kids when the 15 new shiny bikes were being unloaded on to the school parking lot.
John Mudge, council member and owner of Rolls Rite Bicycle Shop, worked with Fuji Corporation to get excellent pricing for the bikes and helmets allowing for the purchase of these much needed additions to the school fleet of bikes.
(Students await the GO command!)
(The face of concentration on this young rider)
The grant project addressed the areas of childhood inactivity leading to later-in-life health issues and strives to encourage children to start off riding early and safely. Principal Justice informed the BicycleHaywoodNC members that the bikes are taken for a week at a time to each of the school system’s locations so that each child gets proper instruction on safety and how to ride a bike. In this school’s case, this one class has all day to be on the bikes and sharpen their skills. BicycleHaywoodNC has pledged to provide additional bike rodeo events so that the children can continue to practice safe riding skills with good instruction.
Watching the kids ride was both entertaining and scary! It took but just a moment to understand that they had not all mastered excellent bike handling skills.
(Council members Yount, Mudge, and Kostelec watch an impending bump!)
The bikes will now happily reside with the Haywood County Schools and hopefully have a long life span spinning joy with each class of kids…
(All photos courtesy P. Casper and C. Carleton)
Most Important Note:
If you have not yet responded to virtually every bike and ped organization’s call to contact your Senators and indicate that they should reject the Coburn amendment to the extension of the Transportation bill, please do so ASAP. Your input is critical to protecting bike and ped funding.
Until later,
- Zeke
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