Did you know physical activity encourages greater brain activity as well as general health? And that’s not all. Stanford Neuroscientist Andrew Huberman recommends viewing morning sunlight to increase metabolism, focus, sleep, and immune system function. Movement and sunlight are among his top five activities to improve performance and health.

So, when you and your child walk or ride a bike to school, you’re getting a triple benefit: a more relaxed morning commute, a dose of brain stimulation, and an immune system boost. It could be the single best thing you do for yourself and your child every day.

A Walk & Roll Revolution

To raise awareness of how physical activity makes kids healthier and happier, Safe Routes interviewed Juliet Starrett, a Marin mom, co-founder and CEO of The Ready State, and coauthor (with her husband Kelly) ofThe New York Times best-seller Built to Move, about how she started a walking school bus at her children’s elementary school in Terra Linda.

Juliet found out that in the 1970s, 85 percent of children walked or rode a bike to school. Then, she and her husband decided to set the alarm clock 20 minutes earlier to have enough time to walk to school with their two daughters. That simple decision created a cascade of benefits.

“The walk was an opportunity to spend some uninterrupted, quality time together without cell phones,” she said. “Our kids picked flowers or looked at worms on our walk. It was a very different experience than entering from the drop-off lane.”

Marin’s E-Bike Program to
Be Showcased Nationally

Safe Routes to Schools Program Director, Gwen Froh, is set to attend the National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., in mid-March. Her mission? To showcase Marin’s e-bike education programs nationally. Froh earned a special invitation from the League of American Bicyclists (LAB) due to the Marin County Bicycle Coalition (MCBC) and Safe Routes to Schools’ early provision of e-bike safety classes for teens.

“Two years ago, when I reached out to the LAB and our national Safe Routes to Schools partners to ask if anyone had developed an e-bike safety curriculum for students, no one came forward. Concerns about teen e-bike use were percolating throughout the county and we wanted to act quickly to address them.”

Froh and her team started researching the laws governing e-bike use and the necessary skills for tweens and teens to safely ride them on our streets and pathways.  

The Safe Routes’ Lead Instructor, Tyler Randazzo, researched different kinds of e-bikes, delving into various brands and their capabilities to exceed the maximum speed allowed for under 16-year-olds. A red flag was raised when some Class 2 manufacturers were hiding the recommended age of use of 16 and above in their fine print.

Froh adds, “Tyler kept hearing from students in class that they knew how to switch the throttle bikes to exceed the maximum 20 mph speed limit regulated by CA law.” 

Froh and Randazzo provide dedicated e-bike education in middle schools and teach MCBC’s Teen E-bike Smart Marin classes providing “on-road” education.  “We teach students how to stop quickly and to maneuver around obstacles on devices that are extremely heavy and travel at twice the speed as conventional bikes for this age group.”

The Safe Routes team also reached out to parents about safety concerns.  Students and parents have been informed of the laws governing e-bike use, including which devices are not considered e-bikes.  These include those that can exceed 20 mph on motor power alone (no pedaling); the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration considers them “motor vehicles” instead of e-bikes. That’s why the fastest e-bikes are “out of class” and require a license and registration for those over 15 years of age.

Froh concludes, “Marin Safe Routes to Schools has worked successfully with school communities to get more students on bikes for the past 24 years.  As dedicated cycling advocates, we will always prioritize children’s safety first and foremost.  We are committed to guiding parents in making informed, legal decisions based on our extensive professional experience teaching kids for over two decades.  I look forward to carrying this message nationally.”  

Chart from Marin Health and Human Services Dashboard, (October 7, 2023 – Feb. 25, 2024).  Data shows that 10 to 15-year-olds riding e-bikes are six times more likely to have a serious crash than any other age group.  Serious crashes have included severe head trauma and pelvic injury comparable to what occurs when crashing a motorcycle.

From Cargo Bikers to Bike Heroes

Jeff Shankle, a parent from Rancho Elementary, hates to sit in traffic. That is why, for a long time he rode his two sons to school on his cargo bicycle or ran with them to school. Last year, when he thought his children were ready, the three of them started to ride their own bikes.

Inspired by the sight of the family group, some neighborhood kids started asking if they could join the fun. They had organically formed a bike train, which is a group of children on their bikes led by an adult. Due to their persistence and organization, in 2023, the group of eight won the Safe Routes to Schools Bike Hero Award.

Shankle explains how the bike train has evolved over time. They started including others last year, when his sons were in second grade, using word of mouth. The Shankles know many families in the neighborhood, so the children would ask others or they got asked themselves. The father of two explains that, after that, he would reach out to the parents and talk about how it would work. Eventually, he got so many inquiries that hejust started copying and pasting the same text message.

Shankle emphasizes that getting others to be part of his bike train has not been a hard sell at all: “Really, I think, children motivate each other!” he said. “They just want to be with their friends. As much as we parents would like to think we are that persuasive, it is really the kids that keep each other coming back.”

The dad has found that, in order to propagate the number of bike trains to the school, it is important to invite families interested in starting their own to join in at least once. He feels that that offers the newcomers the confidence that they can do it too, with the certainty that riding in a big group is much safer than doing it alone.

How to Start a Bike Train or Walking School Bus

On March 28, 6:00-7:00 pm, elementary school parents and caregivers are invited to attend a Zoom meeting to learn the basics for starting a bike train or walking school bus.  Veteran volunteers will offer tips for organizing and timing your route, how to recruit other parents to help lead the group, and how to participate if you live far from school.  RSVP:  [email protected]

Rainbow Contest Set to Start in April

Pre-stamped cards will be handed to thousands of students on the first day, stamped during the following contest dates, and finally collected on May 8. Parent volunteers and school administrators will use the returned cards to conduct a drawing for up to two Razor scooters per school site.

In sponsoring a weekly event, Safe Routes to Schools hopes to help create a healthy habit and send a message that walking and rolling to school is easy and sustainable.

Nominate Your Bike Hero

Nominations for the Safe Routes Bike Hero Award are now open until May 31st. Bike Heroes are great “roll” models: They are students who get up early to ride regularly, inspire others to bike, obey all rules of the road, and have FUN biking. Parents, administrators, teachers, and friends are invited to nominate their favorite student cyclist for the county-wide award. Two nominated elementary school students and two middle school students will be selected in early June and will be awarded $50 gift cards.

Nominate your BIKE HERO HERE!
View past 2023 winners