Project Ride Smart

at H Allen Hight Elementary School. Five 5th grade classes with just 5 minutes between classes. Wednesday a day of indoor teaching because of rainstorms. I worked with Deanna:

Thursday and Friday: blacktop drills plus one hour after school to coach beginning riders. Long day of physical work. Before school we take 40 bicycles out of a shipping container plus set out about 100 cones for the course. At the end of the day the bikes are repacked and we get the kids in the final class to pick up the cones. The one hour after-school coaching sessions were quite rewarding.

There were probably 15 kids each day. Some just needed riding time to refresh their skills. Others needed to learn from scratch. Our final success story on Friday: Vincent. We talked about a strong power pedal, eyes on the horizon. I ran alongside, barely holding him upright. After a few passes I told him, “I haven’t been holding you up. You’re actually riding on your own.” Vincent: “I am?” That was all he needed to know. Everyone who came to coaching is now riding a bike. LCIs Gina and Pierson were also there to coach and encourage.

And I’m one tired person. Three days of physical labor.

Project Ride Smart

at H Allen Hight. Week 2. Monday and Tuesday were blacktop drills. Wednesday was the first day of street rides.
And then it began raining. Periodic showers but all 4 classes had some rain to deal with. My group found a skate park at Wild Rose Park that also made a fun bike path.
Ride leaders: Christy, Yolanda, Doug, Deanna, Dana, and Veronica.

Friday. Sunshine!
Mostly.

Project Ride Smart

Monday @ Regency Park. The last day is fun games on bikes. I did the Slow Race.
Tuesday @ H Allen Hight. The first day! LCI trainees Lorge and Marsha doing the Melon Drop lesson, Mellissa Meng is on the landing above:
At the end of the day, the nametags for helmet-fitting the next day had to be prepared:
Wednesday. Dana and Marsha:
Thursday. ABCQuick Check by Dana
and Marsha.
Friday. More of the same plus one hour of after-school coaching. Based on our observations at Thursday’s blacktop drills, we invited 25 (!) students to coaching. That’s about 25% of the 5th grade student population!