Let's Ride! SOMbike Brings Cycling Education to Schools

On Monday afternoon, 8th graders at Maplewood Middle School saw something in their gym that they had never seen there before: bicycles.

The bikes had been brought there by SOMbike—the South Orange-Maplewood Bicycle Coalition—in an effort to promote physical activity before and after school and include bicycling in the physical education curriculum for the first time.

The program—called "Let's Ride!"—is a joint effort of SOMbike, the South Orange/Maplewood School District and the School District Wellness Committee.

According to Judy LoBianco, Supervisor of Health, Physical Education and Nursing Services for the school district, "We seek to not only offer programming for a world-class education, but we are also committed to the health and wellness of every child." LoBianco said the the bicycle program helps the district in achieving its goal of having every child participate in 60 minutes of physical activity each day.

Said LoBianco, "We recognize that we cannot do it without reaching out to our community partners. We feel that it is imperative that we promote exercise outside of the school day—and what better way than to support our children through biking both regularly and safely?"

The program is provided free of cost to the district and is staffed by volunteers—albeit volunteers who are experts in bike safety and maintenance. For example, instructor Kirk Sohr is a certified cycling instructor from the League of American Bicyclists and is a member of Maplewood's Transportation Committee. Tom Reingold is often referred to as the "Go-To Bike Guy" and  is an avid cyclist (that handlebar mustache is no lie!).

SOMbike is working to bring "Let's Ride!" workshops to the middle schoolers and to fifth graders in the elementary schools. The workshops demonstrate safe riding practices and address topics such as adjusting bikes and helmets for a safe and comfortable fit, performing a safety inspection, and the proper use of bike locks.

The workshop debuted at Maplewood Middle School today and will visit fifth graders at Jefferson and Clinton schools next week. If the reaction of the MMS 8th graders is any indication, the 5th graders are in for a treat.

As the 8th graders filtered into the gymnasium, they were typically chatty. But as Sohr and Reingold got the conversation underway—quickly engaging the students in questions and answers—the audience was rapt.

Sohr asked, "What does it mean to know how to ride a bike?"

The hands shot up.

"Balance," offered one student.

"Pedaling," said another.

"How your bike works," added a third. Reingold, who operates a bicycle repair shop in his basement, said he liked that answer.

Sohr and Reingold approved all those responses but seized on a fourth—"Where you are supposed to ride"—to launch into a discussion of the rules of the road, reminding students that, by their age, they should be riding in the streets where they must obey vehicular traffic laws just as cars do. The instructors discussed proper signaling and yielding to pedestrians.

The students were eating it up and the bikes on pedestals hadn't even come down yet, nor had the video begun to run.

This program caps off a dynamic first year for SOMbike, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cycling in South Orange and Maplewood. SOMbike has hosted free biweekly family bike rides, organized long rides for avid bikers, promoted National Bike To Work Week last May, introduced a cycling class at the Adult School, participated in town meetings in support of safe bike routes, and advised the South Orange/Maplewood School District and the South Orange township on bike rack selection and placement. Add to that the fact that SOMbike has been at almost every community event from Maplewood Green Day to the South Orange Newcomer's/Health Fair.

It's enough to raise one's heart rate—but in a healthy way!