Thousands of Idaho Falls kids gearing up for bike to school challenge
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IDAHO FALLS – Thousands of students in Idaho Falls School District 91 and Bonneville Joint School District 93 will be pedaling to school next month to promote healthy lifestyles.
Between May 2 and May 20 students from Idaho Falls and Ammon elementary schools will participate in the Bonneville Metropolitan Planning Organization’s annual Bike Challenge — an event aimed at bolstering activity and bike safety among students.
“As a school we care about (students) in more ways than just their reading and their writing. We care about them as a whole person. We want to see them doing fun things with afterschool time,” Cloverdale Elementary Principal Jeanne Johnson said.
In the last two years, Cloverdale Elementary has claimed victory for the bike challenge. Johnson said it’s a great way to promote a healthy lifestyle and to unite the school.
To successfully complete the challenge, kids must ride their bikes to school 12 out of 15 days. Kids have the chance to win a t-shirt and are entered to win a new bicycle at each school. The principal from the school with the highest percentage of riders also wins the use of a car from Smith Chevrolet for 30 days.
“Last year we started out with 6,000 kids that started the challenge. We had right around 4,000 that finished it,” BMPO Transportation Planner DaNiel Jose said.
Johnson said 560 kids attend Cloverdale, and around 400 usually participate in the contest. She said for a lot of kids at Cloverdale it’s their first time putting what they’ve learned about traffic safety into practice.
“We’ve tried to emphasize so much about safety: wear a helmet, follow all traffic laws,” Johnson said. “For a lot of our kids, it’s the first real formal training they’ve had.”
Kids are briefed on traffic safety before the event begins, but there are not designated routes for the children during this challenge. Drivers are advised to use increased caution and watch for kids traveling to or from school.
“Around all of the elementary schools, watch out for all the cyclists because you’ll definitely see and increase in cyclists those three weeks,” Jose said.
Students who ride the bus can expect a normal bus route. Those who find it unsafe to ride a bike to school may still participate by riding in their neighborhood.
In conjunction with the challenge, Bill’s Bike Shop has discounted children’s helmets.