Another five days of Project Ride Smart at Natomas Park Elementary … with a rainy day Friday! A few video lessons:ABCQuick Check is a standard practice before any use of the bikes.Everyone is lined up to watch me demonstrate a proper left hand turn – the most challenging bicycle-driving maneuver we teach – while Gina described what was happening For the blacktop drill and evaluation, Gina worked with the red and yellow groups. I worked with the blue and green.No blacktop drills on Friday! Time to get creative.Three colors of masking tape and we had a 4-way intersection. After work on Thursday, Gina and I rode each of the three routes for next week’s street rides. There were lots of Halloween decorations to appreciate but this was our favorite.

Blacktop drills this week. This is when we find out who does not really know how to ride a bike. Those students were invited to an after-school coaching session. Goals this week: ride straight, use both brakes to stop AT the limit line, always get into power pedal position. We are lucky to have a dedicated classroom where we can teach and store the bikes and equipment. Gina attempted to make the room darker for better viewing of the videos. Everyday, we wheel out 40 bikes and line them up by size. At the end of the day, we wheel them all back in again and lock them up.After-school coaching. Kyle, the boy at the right, learned to ride today! Both he and his father were so proud while I was exhausted after running up and down holding onto the back of the seat or keeping my hand on his back. After a while, Kyle told me he wanted to do it on his own (oh, thank you) and he continued to improve.Breanna, on the other hand, struggled. She had great balance, pushed off with a strong power pedal, turned the cranks once, and then put her feet on the ground. Nothing I said convinced her to keep pedaling. Sigh. We’ll try again at the next coaching session.