When you pass a group of kids on bicycles, it’s hard not to smile — there’s something innately joyful about the sight. There’s also an underlying assumption that everything about the act, from the socialization to the time spent outdoors engaged in physical activity, is good for them. New research affirms that gut feeling.

Published on October 12, 2023, in Frontier in Sports and Active Living, a new study from researchers at Loma Linda University (LLU) reveals the positive impact of cycling education on the psychosocial well-being of students. The research is the result of a collaboration between LLU and the youth cycling nonprofit Outride, examining the impact of Outride’s in-school cycling programs on the mental health of middle schoolers. 

"Our findings were incredibly encouraging,” says Dr. Sean Wilson, LLU professor and senior author of the study. “A large proportion of students had a positive learning experience and continued interest in cycling,” 

“As a learning organization, we really want to understand how bicycling can improve the lives of youth in their communities,” says Dr. Esther Walker, senior research manager at Outride. 

Anonymous surveys were collected before and after the program in 20 schools in North America, with psychosocial well-being quantified using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index and the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC-17-Y). The former is a short, five-item, self-report questionnaire that assesses positive well-being and primarily assesses for depression, while the latter is a widely used measure of psychosocial functioning, with lower scores representing greater well-being. According to the study, participation in R4F was associated with improved psychosocial well-being among middle school youth in the United States. 

“It was really encouraging to see such a positive student response to a cycling-specific physical education program,” says Fletcher Dementyev, a research fellow at LLU and first author of the paper. “This result motivates us, and hopefully others, to continue investigating and developing cycling as a pathway to improved health and well-being in adolescents.”

“By providing access to bikes, a safe environment to learn to ride, and the confidence to ride independently, we can really help to create healthy pathways,” says Walker. “As youth are facing worrying levels of physical inactivity and mental health challenges, finding those activities that get them excited to participate is really important.”

PeopleForBikes’ 2022 Bicycling Participation Report reflects this trend: While 49% of youth ages 3-17 rode a bicycle at least once in 2022, ridership among younger Americans has continued to drop since 2016.

“Our program data shows that access to bikes at home, as well as safe places to ride, is not equitable across the student population,” said Walker, noting that programs like R4F, which take place during the school day and provide all necessary materials, gives everyone the opportunity to learn a skill they can use throughout their life. "While bicycling can certainly contribute positively to one's day-to-day life, to see large-scale improvements, we need changes in policy and reductions in systematic disparities in access to nutrition, health services, safe environments, and beyond.”

As school systems, educators, policymakers, and healthcare professionals work together to address the mental health challenges facing today's youth, this study provides valuable insights into the potential of cycling programs to enhance the mental well-being of young people across the U.S. University-backed research is showing the benefits that come along with getting more kids on bikes. Communities should listen.  

Interested in learning more? Follow Outride on Instagram and Facebook to stay up-to-date with their work to improve the well-being of youth through research-backed cycling programs.

Research Highlights the Positive Impact of In-School Cycling

On any given Wednesday during the school year, you can find a pack of more than 150 kids bicycling to Alameda Elementary School in Portland, Oregon. The bike bus, as it's known, represents roughly 33% of the entire school and according to parents and onlookers, it’s a joy-filled, active transportation event that you can’t help but want to be a part of. In their free time, kids practice their bike skills to participate and on Wednesday mornings, they rally their parents to be on time.

This particular bike bus is the brainchild of Sam Balto, or Coach Balto to his students, a physical education teacher and safe streets advocate that leads the charge in a neon vest with pop music blasting alongside him. Passionate about safety and the well-being of our youth, Balto started his teaching career in Boston in 2015. That same year, he launched his first walking school bus, leading a group of ten kids along a route to school. He’s been passionate about Safe Routes to School and active transportation “buses” ever since.

“After that day, I saw the joy of kids walking to school and how different that was than all other days,” says Balto, noting the immediate behavioral change the students underwent. “I also realized that relying on volunteers [to run the buses] is not a sustainable or equitable model.”

When Balto moved to Portland, he started another walking school bus, again taking note of how successful it was but also what a great need there was for volunteers and other forms of institutional support. When the pandemic hit — accompanied by bus driver shortages and a desire to stay outdoors — bike buses took off around the world, with viral videos surfacing in Barcelona, San Francisco, and even nearby Hood River, Oregon. Inspired, Balto decided to form a bike bus for Earth Day 2022.

“We started with 75 kids and one route,” says Balto. “It was a huge success and we decided to keep doing it, so I reached out to parent volunteers to see if they could keep doing it for the rest of the year.”

Volunteers are a crucial part of any walking or bicycling school bus, as they help ensure the bus stays together, everyone moves safely, and that cars keep their distance. Once the parent volunteers assured Balto they were on board, the bike bus began to grow, adding another route and a bigger catchment zone to make it easier for kids and families to join. That first year, the bus grew from 75 to 120 kids in just six weeks.

“Because it was being done consistently, families were able to plan for it,” says Balto, noting that a weekly activity helps justify a parent’s investment from a time and monetary perspective. “Kids were asking for new bikes so that they could join.”

In 2023, the bike bus became a year-round weekly institution and has only been canceled once due to weather (and in that instance, it became a walking school bus). As a whole, Portland’s bike infrastructure is relatively good and the bus route primarily traverses low-stress neighborhood greenways. The element of critical mass and again, its predictability, have helped keep students safe and area residents prepared. In fact, most neighbors come out and cheer the students on.

For Balto, as with many volunteers that participate in bike buses, the outcomes make the effort worthwhile. Not only do parents report that kids look forward to school more on bike bus mornings, but they also share how bike buses help make everyone in the household more physically active. Others note how active transportation buses can help reduce truancy and increase focus and confidence amongst its participants, something that supports outcomes from research done by Outride on youth bicycling. 

“The biggest thing is just the joy that the kids have,” says Balto. “Not every kid will be on a sports team and have that experience, but the bike bus is like a team where everyone plays an important role.”

Coming out of the pandemic, parents have also really loved seeing their kids be a part of a community. The bike bus is not only a way for their kids to be active but also ensures they’re part of something bigger than themselves. When compared to driving your child to school — a largely solitary act that does little to get them excited for the day ahead — the bike bus always wins. Even with so many parents on board, however, Balto has long recognized the need to pay them for their time. 

Transportation funding, unfortunately, isn’t as flexible as many Safe Routes to School advocates (Balto among them) would like it to be. When Balto and others started looking into how they might reallocate unused funding to financially support and grow the bike bus movement, they realized they were up against tremendous barriers. To grow the movement and make it more equitable, the system would need to change. Introducing a state bill made the most sense.

Thanks to the videos Balto posted on Twitter and the attention his efforts were garnering nationally, he was able to connect with more experienced politicos. They in turn connected him with Representative Khanh Pham, who represents District 46 on Portland’s outer southeast side. When Blato and Rep. Pham met in September 2022, she was immediately receptive, agreeing on the spot to write a bill that would bring more flexibility to student transportation funds.

“Passing legislation to make it easier for students to bike, walk, and take transit to school is an initiative that solves so many overlapping challenges,” says Rep. Pham. “It's a public health initiative, it’s education policy, it's climate action, and ultimately it's community building by encouraging neighbors, parents, and students to spend time together.”

Coincidentally, another Oregon legislator, Representative Hoa Nguyen, whose district borders Rep. Pham’s, wrote an almost identical bill. Having been an attendant at her school, Rep. Nguyen saw firsthand how a walking school bus led to a 30% increase in student attendance. Nguyen also noted how teachers saw a significant decrease in disruptive classroom behavior from students, largely because they were able to expend some energy on their morning walk to school.

The legislators joined forces and ultimately decided to call their combined bill (HB 3014) the “Bike Bus Bill.” The bill itself is relatively basic: If passed, school districts across Oregon will have more flexibility with how they spend their state transportation dollars, letting them organize things like bike buses and walking school buses in addition to traditional buses and carpool lines. 

"Currently, these funds can only be used for traditional yellow school buses or in some cases, school-owned vans," says Rep. Nguyen. "But that isn’t always the best option for all students. With the passage of HB 3014, districts will be able to request reimbursement  for alternative transportation options like crossing guards or coordinators to lead walk and bike buses."

The bill would have the greatest impact on those households that don’t own a vehicle and that live close to their schools — too close for a bus route — but face dangerous obstacles in traveling safely.

The “Bike Bus Bill” will make it easier to organize bike buses and pay the volunteers that are indispensable to their success. (Photo credit: Jonathan Maus/BikePortland)

Last month, when the Oregon House Committee on Education held a hearing for the bill, Reps. Pham and Nguyen, Balto, and some 27 other advocates, students, and parents showed up to give live testimony in support of the bill. Rep. Pham drew attention to the “epidemic of traffic violence” our students, especially those from lower-income communities, are facing every day and how the bill would help them safely cross short-but-dangerous distances to get to school. Others pointed out that owning and maintaining a car is out of reach for many and how active transportation solutions can help cities meet their carbon reduction targets. 

“The first time I rode the bike bus I was overcome with a sense of community. I felt like I was biking on an ocean of joy. Every student should be able to feel what I did,” said Alameda Elementary student Isla, speaking at the hearing. “Safe Routes to School programming and investments are a cost-effective game-changer for reducing daily driving…the passage of HB 3014 will improve the climate and encourage people to get active.”

For Balto, the bill is a testament to the creative possibility bikes can offer and the power of community-led initiatives. “[The bill] is about providing a more direct service to school communities,” says Balto. “It breaks through the noise and is all about the joy of children.”

The Bike Bus Bill continues to progress through the Oregon legislature — a work session is currently scheduled for the end of the month and it's hard to say when, if at all, the bill will become law. Whether it does or not, Balto will continue leading his bike bus every Wednesday and supporting others who want to emulate his efforts in their own communities. 

“I don’t have a choice but to keep going — when kids want these things and are advocating for them, that’s student-led education,” says Balto. “They’re the ones picking what they want to see and do and we should all capitalize on that and support it.”

In many ways, Seattle is already a great city for bicycling. For the last two years, it’s ranked third among large U.S. cities in PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings. Plus, it’s also made significant network progress year over year: From 2020 to 2021, Seattle’s Bicycle Network Analysis score jumped from 53 to 58, thanks in part to nearly 10 new miles of protected bike lanes and trails.

Seattle’s Bicycle Master Plan lays out a vision for a connected network that includes 100 miles of protected bike lanes and nearly 250 miles of neighborhood greenways. When complete, every household will be within a quarter-mile of an all ages and all abilities bike facility. In order to ensure kids learn to ride, the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) funds Cascade Bicycle Club’s Let’s Go school education programming. Although SDOT doesn’t have a firm date for network completion, Seattle committed to having 90% of all personal trips have zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, opening up substantial funding for bikes and allowing for the completion of critical infrastructure.

In recent years, SDOT prioritized infrastructure decisions based on safety, equity and connectivity, particularly in regard to building key bicycle connections to transit. Last year, the department also announced a historic new Transportation Equity Framework (TEF), the goal of which is to help reimagine the city’s streets and transportation system by addressing persistent economic, racial and social inequities in Seattle. Bike champions are also ubiquitous in the city, helping elevate safety concerns, advocate for connections from certain underserved neighborhoods or allocate funds for historically marginalized communities.

One such champion is the nonprofit Seattle Neighborhood Greenways, a coalition of 16 neighborhood-based, volunteer-led chapters working to make Seattle’s streets more livable. Seattle’s cost-saving strategy for building new bike infrastructure has been to do it in conjunction with other paving projects or by scooping funding from other projects that are already happening. The result has been a lot of great new bike infrastructure in small chunks that don’t necessarily connect. In 2021, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways developed UnGap the Map, an advocacy campaign focused on getting the city to fill the gaps in its bicycle network.

“It’s really frustrating because if you want to bike in Seattle, you still have to be comfortable mixing with traffic,” said Clara Cantor, a community organizer with Seattle Neighborhood Greenways. “There are these super comfortable bike routes that will just end abruptly and leave you stranded in a terrifying intersection with no clear direction on where you’re supposed to go.”

While a great bike route might pick up a few streets away, a lack of good wayfinding signage makes it difficult to find for those who aren’t familiar with the city’s bike infrastructure. Likewise, a route that requires riders to mix in traffic, even for a quarter-mile, can be a big deterrent for some and an insurmountable obstacle for others, including children.

“It’s scary and dangerous, but it's especially hard for new riders,” said Cantor. “It makes for a much more exclusive bike culture.”

Although Seattle Neighborhood Greenways focuses on pedestrian safety as well, the Ungap the Map campaign is solely focused on bikes. The crux of the campaign is a shortlist of 10 major gaps in the city’s bike network — corridors the organization has identified as the most important places for the city to tackle first. Since smaller neighborhood groups make up the larger organization, there are other grassroots efforts happening to push for the closing of gaps on the neighborhood level, but the 10 routes remain the organization’s main focus.

The UnGap the Map project is planning both long and short term. In the long term, Seattle Neighborhood Greenways is working to influence the larger discussion with city planners around what a connected bike network looks like and how the city can get there. By changing the emphasis from how many bike lane miles are built to how many bike lane miles connect, advocates hope to create a city where people of all ages and abilities feel comfortable commuting exclusively by bike.

“Seattle is currently doing a big transportation plan update and we’re trying to influence that effort,” said Cantor. “We want to push the city to prioritize complete, connected routes, rather than keep building bits and pieces here and there.”

In the immediate term, the UnGap the Map campaign is focused on installing new wayfinding signage in order to help guide riders around Seattle, especially those that are new to biking or returning after a long time out of the saddle. In 2020, Seattle saw a 21-35% increase increase in the number of people riding bikes, and citywide, 60% of residents say they want to bike more but fear for their safety. The wayfinding signage, which will be installed across the city this summer, will help direct people through some of the existing gaps. Someone that comes to the end of a comfortable bikeway would reach a map that then points them to the best nearby routes.

“It’s not making people any safer but it’s helping them navigate through and find those routes that feel safer,” said Cantor, adding that for many people, that might include hopping up onto the sidewalk for a while.

Seattle Neighborhood Greenways settled on its list of 10 major gaps by prioritizing routes that connect different parts of the city, as well as accounting for safety and equity concerns. Four of the routes are what Cantor calls “citywide connectors,” or gaps that when filled would help people move around the city more efficiently. The other six are equity-focused routes that would majorly benefit the mostly South Seattle neighborhoods where they’re located, places with higher BIPOC and low-income populations that have historically been ignored when it comes to infrastructure investments.

Although none of the gaps have been filled yet, there has been significant progress on some of them. One is the “Beacon Ave. South” route, which would connect Seattle’s downtown to the entirety of its southeastern portion. The northern section of that route is currently funded and SDOT is working on design, with construction anticipated to begin in 2023 (the southern portion has yet to be funded but it’s on the city’s shortlist).

Another major connection, the “Georgetown” route, could bridge the Georgetown neighborhood to downtown through the SoDo neighborhood. Zoned industrial, every street in SoDo is wide and built to accommodate freight. Without a single safe bike corridor, SoDo is unsurprisingly dangerous to ride through and injuries and fatalities are common — two bicyclists have been killed there in 2022 alone. Because of the fatalities, SDOT is prioritizing this project and hopes to have it completed by the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.

“It still seems really far out but it’s closer than it ever has been,” said Cantor.

In fall 2021, PeopleForBikes awarded Seattle Neighborhood Greenways a $10,000 grant to support the organization’s advocacy work, outreach efforts, wayfinding signage and long-term planning. The emphasis on connectivity directly aligns with PeopleForBikes’ City Ratings system, which — recognizing that most people are only interested in biking when it's a comfortable experience — prioritizes low-stress biking connections and how well bike networks connect people with the places they want to go.

While Seattle has made significant progress in recent years and remains one of the best places to bike in the U.S., there’s still room for improvement when it comes to connectivity. According to Cantor, many bike infrastructure projects get heavily compromised before completion by stopping shy of a major intersection, not quite reaching a destination or being built with protection only in one direction. Compromising on individual projects can harm the connectivity of a network, as well as interrupt ambitious mode shift goals.

“If our goal is to have more people biking, that actually won’t happen if it feels the way it currently feels to bike,” said Cantor. “You have to make it comfortable, efficient and joyful or people are going to try it once and not come back.”

PeopleForBikes is pleased to announce the award of a three-year grant from The JPB Foundation to support the Better Bike Share Partnership (BBSP), a national collaboration focused on improving social and racial equity in shared micromobility systems across the United States. Better Bike Share Partners — the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Transportation, Infrastructure, and Sustainability (OTIS); the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO); and PeopleForBikes — will carry out this work together.

“Shared micromobility means more options for people in need of reliable transportation,” says Tangier Barnes-Wright, PeopleForBikes’ senior partnership and program manager. “When done equitably, it results in significant social, health, economic, and sustainability benefits for lower-income and BIPOC communities. I am excited to continue our support of organizations that are breaking down barriers to using shared micromobility for these groups.”

This is the fifth grant supporting the work of the Better Bike Share Partnership since its inception in 2014. The new funding will assist a second round of Living Lab grantees, which will address barriers preventing the use of shared micromobility in low-income and BIPOC communities nationwide. Grant funds will also finance the Transportation Justice Fellowship to continue supporting professional development for people of color working in the transportation field, as well as NACTO’s shared micromobility roundtable, mini-grants, and a robust storytelling platform.

“Over the last nine years, the Better Bike Share Partnership has been instrumental in addressing issues of equity, access, diversity, inclusion, and justice in the shared micromobility industry. Through grants, research projects, written guidance, presentations, and technical assistance support, BBSP has helped cities and operators implement bike and scooter systems that help folks travel to much-needed resources,” says Waffiyah Murray, Indego program manager at OTIS. “The City of Philadelphia is honored to be a partner in this work, serving as a living example of how BBSP best practices are successful when implemented in an intentional and meaningful way.”

“With more than a half-billion trips in the U.S. since 2010, shared micromobility is an important and growing transportation option in hundreds of cities across North America,” said Cary Bearn, senior program manager for biking at NACTO. “Because of the Better Bike Share Partnership, equity is a central part of the conversation about shared micromobility. NACTO is excited to continue collaborating with PeopleForBikes and the City of Philadelphia for another three years to support cities and operators in making sure these popular systems are equitably serving low-income areas and communities of color.”

The Better Bike Share Partnership plans on disseminating final reports for its first Living Labs cohort by the end of the year. Applications for the new cohort will open in early 2024. In the meantime, the partnership is working with the North American Bikeshare and Scootershare Association (NABSA) to revamp its Workforce Diversity Toolkit. BBSP will also continue to cover the work of its current grantees, as well as relevant research in the shared micromobility space at www.betterbikeshare.org.


About the Better Bike Share Partnership
The Better Bike Share Partnership is a collaboration funded by The JPB Foundation to increase access to and the use of shared micromobility systems in low-income and BIPOC communities. The partners include The City of Philadelphia, the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), and PeopleForBikes. Learn more at BetterBikeShare.org.

PeopleForBikes is the U.S. bicycle industry’s trade association and a national advocacy nonprofit representing more than 325 bicycle industry supplier members and nearly 1.4 million individuals. Through our three areas of influence — infrastructure, policy, and participation — we accelerate the construction of safe, fun, and connected places to bike; advance pro-bike and pro-bike-business legislation; and reduce barriers to access and welcome more people to the joys of riding a bike. Our goal: Become the best place to ride a bike in the world. Join us at PeopleForBikes.org.

About the National Association of City Transportation Officials

NACTO is an association of 96 major North American cities and transit agencies formed to exchange transportation ideas, insights, and practices and cooperatively approach national transportation issues. The organization’s mission is to build cities as places for people, with safe, sustainable, accessible, and equitable transportation choices that support a strong economy and vibrant quality of life. Learn more at NACTO.org.

PeopleForBikes Receives Grant to Keep Shared Micromobility Equitable

Twenty years ago, the small, Northwest Arkansas city was relatively unknown. Today, it’s the mountain biking capital of the world.

Bentonville, Arkansas, tucked in the heart of the Ozarks in the northwest corner of the state, is probably most well known as the birthplace of Walmart. Over the last 15 years, however, thanks in large part to investments made by the Walmart-founding Walton family, the city has dubbed itself the “Mountain Biking Capital of the World.”

Some die-hard mountain bike enthusiasts may throw up their arms at that statement and say, “What about Moab, Whistler or (insert said enthusiast’s favorite local trails here)?!,” but those who have visited Bentonville can attest that the city has truly done an incredible job of growing a strong community of dedicated cyclists, all within recent memory.

For 2022, Bentonville ranked #1 in Community Score in PeopleForBikes’ annual City Ratings. The program, which evaluates, identifies and compares great places for biking, determines a city’s score by combining its Network Score, measuring the quality of a city’s bike network, and its Community Score, measuring how people feel about biking in their city. While the Network Score may be worth 80% of a city’s overall rating, the Community Score offers an important look into understanding local resident’s perceptions of bicycling where they live, work and play.

With a Bicycle Network Analysis score of 43 and an overall score of 48, Bentonville sits right on the cusp of being considered a great place to bike by City Ratings standards, with an overall score of 50 being that gateway to greatness. However, touting a Community Score of 70, the Northwest Arkansas hub offers many potent lessons on fostering a community of bike-minded residents. 

Bentonville’s journey began relatively recently, with the city’s first five miles of singletrack opening in 2007 on the north end of town. By 2010, those five miles grew to 17 miles, and the Slaughter Pen network of trails stretched further south, connecting to the heart of downtown Bentonville. Over the next 10 years, the region’s network of trails continued to expand, with 100 more miles of trails opening in Bella Vista, Bentonville’s northerly neighbor. Today, Northwest Arkansas is home to more than 500 miles of trails, stretching from Bella Vista to Eureka Springs.

But Bentonville’s success lies in more than just building miles and miles of trails — according to Gary Vernon, senior program officer for the Walton Family Foundation, the organization responsible for funding a majority of the trails across Northwest Arkansas, the key is building trails for all types of riders. 

“When the first few miles of trail were built, it wasn’t just a check written by a family foundation. Tom and Steuart [Walton] were out riding the trails in the community and building the trails that most benefited those who lived in the community,” said Vernon. “We wanted to build trails that connected communities, both physically and socially, and that are able to be enjoyed by riders of all skill levels. We wanted to get families out riding together that normally wouldn’t. Instead of packing up the car and driving a few hours to ride, you can roll out of your driveway in Bentonville and be at a trail in minutes. We like to say that the best trailhead in Bentonville is your garage.”

For Vernon, accessibility, connectivity and progression are the key pillars to introducing new riders and welcoming more people to the fun of mountain biking. “Just start with that first 10 miles of trail and build them in a way that there’s trails that are fun for all skill levels,” he said. “Build trails that parallel greenways so parents can ride on pavement alongside their kids riding dirt for the first time. You don’t need 150+ miles to be successful; if you have 10-15 miles of fun, connected trails, you can be successful.”

While Bentonville trails may lack the one-way distances of other mountain biking meccas out West or in the Northeast, Vernon also points to the “lapability” of local trails as another benefit to Bentonville’s success in growing riders’ confidence and love of biking. 

“Growing up, we would build one jump and hit it 1,000 times. That’s how we got better,” said Vernon, noting how Bentonville’s dedicated climbing tracks sprinkled throughout its trail networks make it easy to hit the same lines again and again and again. “You don’t get better by hitting a different jump every time you ride. Beginners can benefit so much from repetition, and when you can hit the same line five times in a row, you’re going to be a lot more confident on the bike because of it.”

Don’t just take Vernon’s word for it either — Bentonville’s investment in biking has proven to be instrumental in growing the number of residents who love to ride. Based on a 2021 survey conducted by PeopleForBikes, 26% of Benton County residents reported riding more than 35 days a year, placing them in the “enthusiastic rider” category. The study also found that a resounding 79% of residents either agree or strongly agree that bicycling is good for the community and 70% think that bicycling in their area has gotten better in the past three years. For any cities on the fence about community response to an investment in biking — hard work pays off. 

While Bentonville is still breaking ground on new off-road trails every year, the city’s biggest push now is turning all of that community support for recreational riding into support for more safety for on-road riding and biking for transportation.  

“We want to be the safest place in the Heartland to ride a bike,” said Hunter Garrison, Bentonville’s bike and pedestrian planner. “We want people to be able to access the entire city — trails, restaurants, bars, you name it — without ever having to get in their car.”

Bentonville’s first on-street protected bike lane is slated for completion later in 2022, and Garrison says changing the image of non-recreation biking is essential to continuing similar projects in the future. 

“In Bentonville, schools don’t provide access to a bus if you live within a mile of a school system. That means we have hundreds of kids biking to school,” said Garrison. “When all people see are adults in lycra, they don’t really care as much about those on-road facilities. When they see kids biking, they feel the need to support the creation of facilities that get them to school safely.”

Garrison also says that even if people don’t care about bikes, everyone cares about economic boosters, and it’s hard to look past what bikes have done for economic growth in Northwest Arkansas. In 2017, a study showed that bicycling brought $137 million in economic benefits to the region. Bicycling put Bentonville on the map, and with how cheap bike investments are compared to similar infrastructure projects, Garrison says you can’t prove a better civic investment when it comes to ROI than bikes. 

Building on the city’s efforts to improve biking for transportation, PeopleForBikes founded its Northwest Arkansas Bike Business Innovation program in 2020 to coordinate workplace programming, incentives and infrastructure changes to grow the number of employees riding bikes for commuting and transportation in Benton County. 

“This is an opportunity to build on the public sector and philanthropic investments in biking in the region as well as put a new lens on our work,” said John Paul Shaffer, PeopleForBikes’ Northwest Arkansas business innovation director. “We’re looking at the private sector with major employers in the area and how they can meet their own goals around sustainability and employee health while also supporting PeopleForBikes’ own mission of getting more people on bikes more often.”

PeopleForBikes is assisting Walmart, the largest employer in the region, in their goal of getting 10% of Home Office associates to commute to work by bike by 2023, and Shaffer thinks that’s just the beginning. “If we can expand that mission and get 10% of all Benton County residents to commute by bike, we can start rivaling the Portlands and other U.S. leaders in that space. That community of dedicated recreation riders already exists, now it’s working to build the infrastructure and culture to incentivize them to ride for transportation.”

There are many reasons why Bentonville is a great place to bike, but they all have one thing in common: community. By prioritizing investments that build and center a sense of community and lower barriers to entry, any city can welcome new riders and grow public support for bicycling.

Join PeopleForBikes in Bentonville October 18-20, 2022, for SHIFT'22 — a dynamic, peer-to-peer gathering surrounded by a can’t-miss week of bicycling events. By bringing current and future leaders together, we're moving the bicycle industry forward. Register and book your hotel today.

The Secret Behind Bentonville’s Success

Mention Flint, Michigan, and many immediately think of the Flint water crisis, a human-made public health emergency caused by dangerous levels of lead in the local water. Before that, it was known as the birthplace of General Motors, then later for experiencing substantial economic decline when several of the company’s auto plants closed in the ‘90s. For Chad Schlosser, however, who has deep roots in the area, Flint never lost its appeal as a great place to live. He moved to the city’s Mott Park neighborhood for its safe, affordable, and family-friendly appeal.

“My grandmother grew up in this neighborhood in the 1920s, and it was such a magical, fun place to be,” says Schlosser, who has three kids in elementary school and currently serves as President of the Mott Park Association. “I want kids to keep feeling that.”

The Mott Park Association was founded in large part to help neighbors take care of Mott Park, a centrally located, almost 100-year-old park that was built with three tennis courts at its heart. As the city changed, becoming less affluent, much of it fell into disrepair. Around 15 years ago, Flint essentially abandoned all of its parks and recreation, making maintenance largely dependent on a fleet of volunteers. At Mott Park, Schlosser and other volunteers kept the park alive with the help of local group Keep Genesee County Beautiful. They often found themselves raking leaves from crumbling tennis courts that never got used, slowly envisioning what the space could be.

“Tennis is seen as an affluent, white sport,” says Schlosser, noting that Flint is a majority-minority community. “Not that people with melanin can’t play tennis — we just wanted to diversify our offerings to better suit the community.”

The Mott Park Association’s former president and Nancy Edwards, the recreation programs and grants officer at Keep Genesee County Beautiful, came up with the idea of converting one of the tennis courts into a bike park or bike garden, essentially a designated area for children to learn how to bike and play. To gauge resident interest, the association sent around a poll in 2019 proposing different ideas, including one for a basketball court. While most people felt anything positive would be great, the bicycle park got the most support.

“No one was against the bicycle park,” says Schlosser. “Some folks were indifferent, so didn’t donate, but no one was actively against it.”

In 2020, the Mott Park Association started working alongside Keep Genesee Beautiful to begin fundraising. As part of that effort, they applied for a PeopleForBikes’ community grant, which was awarded in June 2021. More Michigan-based organizations signed on to support the project and with funding secured, the association began to plan the bike park. For the park’s design, they chose to work with the Flint Public Art Project, a local public arts organization best known for murals throughout the city (it completed some 120 in the span of five years). Importantly, the artist ultimately chosen to commission the piece, Mike Cobley, was a Flint native.

Flint native Mike Cobley was chosen to design and install the bike park's surface mural.

“We wanted to include Flint landmarks in the piece and a lot of the things Mike drew are well-known in our city,” says Schlosser, listing the library, farmer’s market, and stadium to name a few. “He even put Mott Park in it. The idea was that kids would be able to ride around and have fun seeing themselves in Flint.”

To ensure it was long-lasting, the park required new asphalt and paint that could withstand all seasons of weather. A local asphalt company resurfaced the tennis court in late summer before Cobley and an assistant came in and beautified it. The bike park had its grand opening on October 18, 2022, with the mayor and Mott Park’s local councilperson in attendance. While the fall weather meant that the court will likely not be used to its fullest until the upcoming spring and summer, the neighborhood kids already love it.

“We had about probably 50 or 60 people down there for the grand opening,” says Schlosser, noting that kids can use bikes, scooters, and roller skates in the park (basically, anything without a motor). “It’s winter now, so there’s not a lot of use, but springtime is a great time for learning to ride bikes.”

Neighborhood kids have already begun using the bike park, which offers a safe, beautiful area for them to learn and play.

There are no sidewalks in the park itself and those in the surrounding area are in poor condition. The new bicycle garden offers a safe place where children can feel free to learn and play, developing an early relationship with bikes that will hopefully carry through to adulthood. While the project hit a few hiccups (most related to the rising cost of materials with inflation), Schlosser is proud to have taken a community-driven idea and seen it through to something beautiful that everyone can be proud of.

“I don’t want our kids to grow up and think, ‘Flint was rough but I survived,’” says Schlosser. “I want them to feel that this is an awesome place to grow up with some beautiful green spaces and fun activities. The bike park is helping people to see that Mott Park is a great place to live.”

PeopleForBikes, a national bicycling advocacy organization, and the U.S. bicycle industry’s trade association announced its latest round of community grants totaling $92,000. The 11 projects funded in 2022 will support bicycle infrastructure and advocacy projects across the U.S. 

PeopleForBikes’ Industry Community Grants Program is funded through the Employee Pro Purchase program, which collects donations from individuals who work in the bike industry and take advantage of pro-pricing discounts on new bikes and bicycling equipment. Cannondale and Trek currently participate. 

Since 1999, the PeopleForBikes Industry Community Grants Program has funded more than 400 projects in all 50 states totaling more than $3.6 million in direct funds. The total funding this year represents more than 1,000 individuals in the bike industry who gave back to grow bicycling through an employee pro purchase. 

“Seeing the industry come together to support community grants big and small continues to be incredibly inspiring,” said Jenn Dice, president and CEO of PeopleForBikes. “We thank the companies and thousands of employees that contribute to this important program. These projects will make a tangible difference in 11 communities while aiding our larger mission of getting more people on bikes more often and making biking better for everyone.” 

The Center of Southwest Culture
Albuquerque, NM 

This grant will support Story Riders, a program at The Center of Southwest Culture, Inc. that empowers Indigenous and Latino youth to reconnect with their natural and cultural heritage, all while providing practical training in bicycle safety, maintenance, and guided cycling experiences. Each student will take home the bike they work on and a new helmet. 

BikeHouston will use the funding to launch Gear Shifters, an advocacy training program for BikeHouston staff and volunteers. Gear Shifters will expand and enhance advocacy efforts by representing the needs of people who ride bikes at public meetings, as well as in conversations with elected officials, community groups, and developers.

Bike Works Seattle’s mission is to promote the bicycle as a vehicle for change and a tool for building resilient communities. This grant will be used for general operating support, more than 80% of which will go directly to youth, adult, community, and environmental cycling programs and services. 

Trails Utah will use this grant to launch a pilot project to modify existing trails with the specific goal of accommodating adaptive mountain bikers. Funds will be used to purchase equipment and signage, as well as pay for physical trail work by the Utah Conservation Corps.

Trailnet works to foster healthy, active, and vibrant communities where walking, bicycling, and the use of public transit is a way of life. Funding will help accelerate the installation of safer mobility networks in St. Louis by focusing on high-crash corridors, which are predominantly in Black and underserved communities. 

The Red Line Parkway Initiative empowers diverse communities to enjoy, develop, and enhance the Red Line Trail and Parkway, a 32-mile, multimodal rails-with-trails project. Grant funds will support a portion of 2023 engagement activities with an emphasis on social equity and physical and mental health. 

Girls in Gear teaches life skills through bike skills to help young female riders build confidence on and off their bikes. Funding will be used for coach training and support, as well as program supplies, to ensure every girl has the chance to safely and confidently bike through life.

Community Action Duluth’s BikePlus program provides those recently released from incarceration with a free bicycle, helmet, and bike lock. This grant will allow Community Action Duluth to continue its efforts and reach more people in need. 

This grant will fund bikepacking trips for those in Deaf community in the Mid-Atlantic region, offering environmental education, leadership training, and essential bicycle maintenance. Funds will also be used to provide a day trip for groups to a gravel or mountain biking trail, allowing for local community connections.

With this grant, Salem Bike Vision (SBV) will host three community rides in 2023, working to educate the public about what makes for effective bike infrastructure and helping identify areas where safety is lacking. The organization will also engage local decision-makers around opportunities to use the city’s recently passed bond for safe bike infrastructure.

Dunn Gardens will use funding to purchase and install two bike racks, which will allow for more car-free commuting and send a welcoming message to the many visitors in the neighborhood who rely on bicycles for transportation. 

PeopleForBikes Announces 2022 Industry Community Grant Recipients

In Tulsa, Oklahoma, a local bike club is going beyond just teaching kids to ride bikes in school, working to also build safe, inclusive, accessible bicycling infrastructure.

“Fifteen years ago, we could have just come out of the gate saying, ‘Dear Mayor, please build 50 miles of bike lanes,’ and city officials would've probably turned around and said, ‘For who?’” says Jason Whorton, executive director and co-founder of Bike Club Tulsa. “So Bike Club Tulsa said ‘Okay, let's work on increasing ridership and exposure to get more kids on bikes.’” 

The club’s decision-makers thought about how they might have the largest impact and settled on targeting the 33,000 kids in Tulsa Public Schools. In 2014, Bike Club Tulsa launched its first after-school program.

“Fast forward to now, we're operating bike clubs in 29 Tulsa public schools, running 12 in-school bicycle education PE programs, and building safe places for our kids to get out and ride,” says Mike Wozniak, program manager at Bike Club Tulsa.

Bike Club Tulsa also uses Project Bike Tech’s bicycle mechanic curriculum to teach science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) to students at a local high school. Plus, the club operates a local National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) mountain bike team, organizes pop-up community bike repairs, leads bicycle classes for adults, and is a key player in implementing adaptive bicycling opportunities across the city. Bike Club’s curriculum is also being used in cities and towns outside the Tulsa metro area.  

Bike Club Tulsa’s impact and student reach has expanded as a direct result of implementing its in-school bicycle education programming. Each after-school program engages roughly 20 fifth-grade or middle-school students for weekly meet-ups and rides. The club works on bicycling skills, life skills, and STEM learning in the fall, while the spring is focused on off-campus rides in the community. The after-school programming currently reaches about 475 students and the in-school PE curriculum — taught to all third-grade students at select partner elementary schools — will hit more than 700 participants by the end of the 2022-23 school year. 

“Every third-grader at that school site gets a four-lesson skill and safety curriculum,” says Wozniak. “We're teaching a lot of kids how to ride bikes.” 

After conducting extensive research and looking at a variety of programs across the country, Bike Club Tulsa developed its own curriculum.

“We took those concepts taught in other curriculums and put our spin on them,” says Whorton. “We use custom photography, videos, equipment, and local students to put an urban spin on cycling education.”

Using its custom curriculum and local influence, Bike Club Tulsa is working hard to break down barriers to bicycle access and participation in the city. The organization is working closely with the school district to implement more clubs, which is crucial considering the number of Title 1 schools and kids on free and reduced-price meals (both are used as indicators for low-income, marginalized communities). Importantly, thanks to community donations, Bike Club Tulsa is able to provide all its programming and equipment at zero cost. 

“Every school has about 30 bikes, 20-25 youth bikes and five adult bikes for volunteers,” says Whorton, adding that all of the kids that graduate from Bike Club Tulsa also earn a bike. “We give them a bike, helmet, safety vest, gloves, high-visibility t-shirt, and a water bottle — all of this well-earned swag.” 

While the cost of bicycle equipment is a barrier for many low-income youth bicycling, it’s not the only one. In the U.S., adult women ride bikes less than adult men for both transportation and recreational purposes, and gender parity is something Bike Club Tulsa explicitly aims for: Bike Club Tulsa’s participation rates are about 50% male and 50% female. 

“[Our demographics] also mirror the breakdown of the school district ethnicity, which is currently one-third white, Black, and Hispanic,” says Whorton. “It’s very important for us that we represent the makeup of students that the district serves.” 

Many of Bike Club Tulsa’s students are also completely new to bicycling. “In one of our PE classes, 17 out of 25 kids didn't know how to ride,” says Whorton. “We really feel that what we're doing here is teaching a lifelong lesson around something that promotes health and wellness.” 

In fact, improving community health outcomes bicycling is another central component of Bike Club’s work. Oklahoma kids have some of the highest rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACE) in the country and many have three or more ACEs, higher than most other states in the country. 

“We know the best way to combat that, to compensate for that, is mentorship,” says Wozniak. “You see all this activity on a bike, but it's also a vehicle for mentorship.” 

Mentorship and the creation of safe, stable, nurturing relationships in families and communities is a key component of ACE prevention and another focus of Bike Club Tulsa, which works hard to ensure that program mentors represent the backgrounds of the kids they work with.

Underlying all of its other work is Bike Club Tulsa’s efforts to develop and advocate for accessible places to ride in close proximity to student’s schools and homes. Tulsa Bike Club’s most recent bike park project, Bales Park Trails, was constructed next to a Tulsa Housing Authority project, where the club also gave many residents free bikes. 

In order to remain inclusive, Bike Club Tulsa makes sure that the trails they build are rated for adaptive use. Lubell Park Trails, another Bike Club project, is Oklahoma’s first purpose-built adaptive mountain bike trail (aMTB), with Bales Park Trails also being designed intentionally for aMTBs. 


Bales Park Trails and adaptive mountain bike riders. (Photo credit: Damon's Droneography and Melissa Lukenbaugh)

“We have three and a half miles of inclusive trail out there,” says Whorton, noting that they’d just received an adaptive mountain bike report from Jeremy McGhee, an authority in the space. “We want the trails we’re developing to be fun for all ages and abilities — we want them to be interesting and challenging, but we also want them to be inclusive.”

Financial barriers to adaptive bicycling are challenges Bike Club Tulsa is addressing alongside the need for inclusive infrastructure. Through a grant from the Sanford & Irene Burnstein Foundation, the club was able to purchase adaptive mountain bikes for local use. The organization also has a collaboration with The Center for Individuals with Physical Challenges that includes weekly rides with their clients on these adaptive trails.

Bike Club Tulsa helps drive Oklahoma bicycle culture and its emphasis on inclusivity doesn’t go unnoticed. The group has also built strong relationships with bike shops in Tulsa and conducts regular bike repair pop-up shops throughout the city. 

“We do community popups where we'll bring out our staff, stands, and tools and we'll service bikes in Tulsa Housing Authority projects, in schools or parks, and YMCAs,” says Whorton. “We go to the people, working on bikes for free to keep them running and keep the kids active.” 

After almost a decade of operation, Bike Club Tulsa has built community trust by delivering on its promises to the Tulsa Public School district and the community at large, drafting a blueprint that can resonate in any community across the country.

Do you know a youth organization in your community that’s supporting youth bicycling? The 2023 Outride Fund Application Cycle opens on January 6, 2023.


Building Inclusive Bicycling at School and Beyond

In the United States alone, 41.9% of adults aged 20 and older are classified as obese, while another 31.7% are considered overweight. Yet those numbers aren’t reflected in the advertising and manufactured goods of virtually every outdoor brand — the bike industry is no exception. 

“The majority of the U.S. lives in a larger body,” said Marley Blonsky, co-founder of the group All Bodies on Bikes. “As an industry, we are leaving billions of dollars on the table by not having clothes or not having strong enough bikes or just not being aware of the conversation.”

For years, Blonsky worked independently and alongside co-founder Kaylee Kornhauser to promote size inclusion in cycling, hosting workshops, offering consulting services and sitting on panels. It wasn’t until 2021, however, when Shimano released the short film “All Bodies on Bikes” that the organization formalized, gaining more widespread notoriety in the process. 

In the months since, Blonsky relocated from Seattle to Bentonville, Arkansas, where she’s made advocating for bicyclists in bigger bodies her full-time gig. As a movement, All Bodies on Bikes hosts no-drop social bike rides where everyone is welcome. Virtual offerings include classes like “Biking for Big People” and “Bike Camping for Beginners.” In July, PeopleForBikes was proud to award the group a $10,000 grant to help grow and, ultimately, get more people riding. 

Blonsky is a featured speaker at PeopleForBikes’ upcoming SHIFT‘22 Conference — taking place October 18-20, 2022, in Bentonville — the theme of which is “Creating the Bike Industry We Want to See.” Learn more about Blonsky and her work in the interview below.

How would you sum up the All Bodies on Bikes mission?

We're a movement to create and foster a size-inclusive bike community. We want to educate and change the industry, and we want to ensure access to safe and comfortable bikes. So all that's to say, we really want to empower folks in larger bodies or non-traditional bodies to ride joyfully.

How did the organization first come about?

Kaylee, my co-founder, and I were both doing size inclusion work long before Shimano made the “All Bodies on Bikes” film but the film was really the genesis of the name “All Bodies on Bikes” and the catalyst to make our consulting and speaking work a bigger thing. The film really legitimized us with the bike industry and so suddenly people were coming to us to ask for expertise or to lead rides — all the things that we’re doing now.

I didn’t realize that’s where the name came from.

I got talked into it and now I'm happy with it, although I still struggle with the name a little bit. I don't think we're doing a very good job serving all bodies. For example, we're not doing a good job serving people with disabilities or folks who use adaptive bikes. Maybe we’ll get there or maybe we won’t — our focus is really people in larger bodies right now.

All Bodies on Bikes has become my full-time job. Previously it would just be a podcast here or an interview there, but now it's what I do pretty much all day, every day. 

Now, there’s a lot of recognition within the bike industry and we're being taken seriously. At first when I would have these conversations, people would be like, oh, “Okay, you're a cyclist. Do you commute?” I’d say, “Yeah, but I also go on pretty epic adventures and gravel race and all these other things.” I think there's a whole lot more recognition and less pushback that people of all sizes are doing these cool things.

To formalize All Bodies on Bikes as a group. Over the past year and a half, it's mainly just been Kaylee and I running the show and figuring everything out. Now, we’re officially formalizing. We’re creating a board, incorporating as a nonprofit and really starting to be a lot more strategic about how we do things.

You recently received a grant from PeopleForBikes — what will that funding be used for?

We're pretty protective of All Bodies on Bikes, both the name and the experience. There’s a danger when somebody promotes an inclusive, no-drop ride as All Bodies on Bikes and then someone has an awful experience or gets left behind or it just doesn't live up to the expectations that we have built. So we’re bringing in chapter leaders and we’re going to train them in what it looks like to lead a safe ride and the nuts and bolts of how to advertise All Bodies on Bikes.

The grant will be used to fund that training so we can grow our reach and our impact.

There are 10 chapters and — I’m going to try and go geographically — they’re located in Western Massachusetts; New York; Washington, D.C.; Charlotte; Detroit; Michigan; Kansas City; Austin; Denver and the San Francisco Bay Area. They’re pretty widespread.

Everyone has asked, ‘Why not Seattle or Portland?’ Well, from what we could tell from the applications, those communities already have a pretty welcoming and inclusive bike riding scene. In a place like Portland in particular, while I think it’d be cool to have an All Bodies on Bikes chapter there, I don’t see a pressing need. Compare that to a place like Austin or Denver, where there are so many cycling groups but there’s not necessarily an inclusive or one or a no drop one. At least that's what we are hearing in the applications.

SHIFT is really about creating the bike industry we want to see — what is something about the industry that you’d change?

There are so many things I would love to change and I think some of them are starting to happen. I’d like to see less of a focus on going fast, being epic or being the best and more of a focus on transportation, utility and joy.

I really think that bikes are the future of our planet in terms of transportation and carbon emissions, and so I’d like to see more shops focusing on families or commuting — just taking the elitism out of cycling. I also really want to see more cooperation with schools and governments for local bike infrastructure. Because you can sell all the bikes you want for trails but until you've got safe infrastructure to ride, the connection isn't gonna be there. I would love to see us all working towards that.

Who do you think is missing at the bike industry’s proverbial table?

Moms, family bikers, kids, people in larger bodies, people of color and — I kind of hate this phrase — invisible cyclists. These are the folks who aren't riding a bike because they want to but because that's what they can afford to do. These are our service industry workers. I think that's who’s missing from the table to tell us how they use their bikes and what they actually need.

What are you most excited about for the conference from an attendee’s perspective?

Talking to other movers and shakers and influencers — I don't mean Instagram influencers but folks who are influencing the industry. I'm excited for casual happy hours. I'm excited to show off Bentonville, which is my home. I'm just looking forward to being in the same room with all these people who, for the past couple years, I have just been talking to on the internet. 

Tell us more about your SHIFT‘22 events.

I'll be leading a workshop all about the power of plus-size folks. We'll be talking size inclusion — why it matters, what the market share opportunity is and how we can make cycling more inclusive. Folks should come because the majority of the U.S. lives in a larger body. 

As an industry, we are leaving billions of dollars on the table by not having clothes or not having strong enough bikes or just not being aware of the conversation. I'm going to talk about it all in a nonjudgmental way and people are going to get to explore their own relationship with our bodies. I think they'll come away more informed, more empathetic and better able to meet the needs of folks in their community. 

Plus, it'll be fun. I'll probably say some inappropriate things.

What gives you hope for the bike industry’s future?

I live across the street from an elementary school and the number of kids I see riding their bikes gives me hope. Programs like Denver’s e-bike rebate program give me hope. Every time I see a family on a bike together, it gives me hope because that's like one less minivan, one less truck. I’m also hopeful because of the reception that All Bodies on Bikes has had — we're being taken seriously and people are excited about it.

We're looking for progress, not perfection. Sometimes we get asked, ‘Why are you working with XYZ brand who doesn't have your size?’ My response is that we’re getting there. It's not going to be an overnight thing. I just ask that people have grace with us and understand that we're all learning together. 

Marley Blonsky Takes On Size Inclusion in Bicycling

In 2020, Bentonville, Arkansas, declared itself the “Mountain Biking Capital of the World.” While a somewhat arbitrary designation, the move was well-warranted: For the past 15 years, the city has made large investments in bicycling, much of it backed by the Waltons, Walmart’s founding family. In Northwest Arkansas (NWA) — a metropolitan area clustered in the Ozark Mountains that includes the cities of Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers, and Springdale — there are more than 500 miles of bike trails. 

The regional focus is now on expanding beyond mountain biking to create a more robust cycling culture, emphasizing accessibility and connectivity and bringing in folks from a diversity of backgrounds. That strategy includes making mountain bike trails more inclusive, teaching adults how to ride, and graduating more advanced bike technicians. No holistic cycling strategy would be complete, however, without also putting an emphasis on youth. From bicycling units in physical education classes to professional development opportunities for teachers, NWA schools are going all in on bikes.

Starting in 2010, there was a big regional push for bicycling in Northwest Arkansas schools. Over the next four years, every school in Bentonville, Fayetteville, and Springdale, as well as some of the schools in Rogers, received a fleet of bikes and helmets. By all accounts, the new bikes were a welcome windfall, although not all schools were well-positioned to take advantage of them in the same way. In the years since, what’s become obvious is that simply having bikes isn’t enough to make biking ubiquitous — schools need a strategy for how to best put them to use. 

Anya Bruhin, the former bike education program manager at Trailblazers, a regional nonprofit dedicated to bicycle advocacy, has been working with Northwest Arkansas schools to break down barriers to bike use among teachers. 

“There’s no Arkansas state standard in physical education to teach bikes, so those teachers that do it, do it because their administrator asks them to or because they want to,” says Bruhin, noting that some schools with bikes have no bike curriculum. “You’re not going to teach something you’re not already passionate about, especially in P.E.”

Bruhin, who spent a decade working as a public school art teacher, has been working to get more educators passionate about bicycling. Well aware that professional development opportunities for teachers are often geared towards academics, she dreamed up a course that would appeal specifically to P.E. teachers. Bruhin adapted her method for teaching National Interscholastic Cycling Association (NICA) coaches and on October 13, 2021, she hired 14 coaches of her own and introduced about 75 Bentonville P.E. teachers and several administrators to mountain biking.

“It poured all day, which actually ended up being great because we got to show them that there are ways to be adaptable,” says Bruhin. “You can find different covered areas, you can do a couple of games in the rain, or you can work in your gym — you don't have to cancel your biking session and your P.E. class just because the weather isn't cooperating.”

All of the teachers started at different skill levels and were sorted according to a survey they took beforehand. The groups played games, participated in challenges, and learned many ways in which a biking curriculum doesn’t need to require access to trails. After receiving stellar feedback from participants, Bruhin realized the program couldn’t just be a one-and-done. She decided to continue it as a selective thread for professional development and has offered several iterations since, the most recent of which put an emphasis on well-being. 

“We ask so much of our teachers, and I built these bike days as a way to give back,” says Bruhin. “It’s an opportunity for teachers to get on a bike, explore the network for themselves, figure out how they can incorporate biking into their daily lives, get some fresh air, sunshine, and exercise, and just fill their cup up.”

Bruhin’s method is based on the idea that the more fun teachers have on a bike, the more likely they are to spread that joy in the classroom. In addition to working with Bentonville public schools, Bruhin did some work in Rogers and hopes to expand as more regional schools show an interest. Bruhin also worked in partnership with Emma Armendariz, who was hired last year as the sustainability and bike education coordinator at Fayetteville Public Schools. Armendariz’s position was created in order to make bicycling a priority and oversee Fayetteville’s fleet of youth bikes and helmets. The school district saw that in order to maintain robust elementary, middle, and high school bike programs, there needed to be a main point of contact. 

In 2014, when Fayetteville Public Schools received its bikes, it also received a curriculum for P.E. teachers to use with them. Over the years, some Fayetteville elementary schools have also incorporated Strider’s All Kids Bike Kindergarten PE Program, while a few middle schools use Outride’s Riding for Focus curriculum (both are essentially plug-and-play offerings, available to schools across the U.S.). In her role, Armendariz has been able to identify things that need to change and maintain streamlined teaching materials that are suited to Fayetteville specifically. Because her role also handles sustainability for the district, she’s also working to get more students and teachers commuting by bike or foot.

“In 2019, Fayetteville set the goal of expanding its bike network to be within a quarter mile of all residents,” says Armendariz, noting that the city is currently at about 75-85% completion. “So all of our students are almost able to access a safe, non-motorized way to get to school but the majority of people are commuting by bus or cars. We need to support students and staff with the knowledge and resources to safely use our trail system.”

Occasionally, Armendariz will organize bike trains to make riding to school more accessible but that’s not something schools can realistically offer daily. In Fayetteville, students bike in elementary and middle school through P.E. and are able to continue it throughout high school as an outdoor education elective. The district also offers adaptive bikes for students with disabilities and for students that transfer schools or just need more instruction, one-on-one help is available. 

“It's a fine line between saying, ‘Well, this is part of our curriculum and you have to try this activity,’ and saying, ‘This is something that is going to be a lifelong skill that we think would really benefit you if you can just give it a shot,’” says Armendariz. “We always try and encourage kids to give biking a try and then if it's not really clicking with them, then we’ll move to one-on-one support.”

Armendariz sees the district-wide emphasis on bicycling as key to building a more robust cycling community in the region. By including bikes as part of the school curriculum, students are able to experience the known benefits of bicycling no matter their family’s economic status. Roughly 40% of Fayetteville students are low-income and many are people of color. Oftentimes, those students don’t have bikes at home or are unable to attend after-school activities. By including bicycling as a taxpayer benefit, they’re given the same opportunities as everyone else.

“We're always looking for ways to break down those barriers and make things more equitable for everyone, regardless of ability or background or income or whatever,” says Armendariz.

Of course, there’s still room to grow. Armendariz hopes to introduce an elective “Biking for Transportation” class, which will emphasize bicycling for everyday use rather than just for sport. She also acknowledges that there’s more room for mechanics instruction (it’s currently only offered in one school, which maintains the district’s bike fleet), as well as a public after-school bike program (right now, NICA remains a student’s best option). 

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