Week 2. More in-class lessons.Pollyanna taught Right-of-Way Rules. We also had one day of blacktop drills plus 2 days of after-school coaching. We asked 17 students (about 20% of students served) to PLEASE come to after-school coaching based on initial assessments.

This morning, I met a group of people attending the California Bike Summit conference who chose to go on a short bike tour of the area served by NNTMA (North Natomas Transportation Management Association) to see ongoing projects and various accomplishments. I didn’t attend the conference but was glad to be invited to go on part of this tour, especially since I am now a resident. We were welcomed by Howard Chan, Sacramento City Manager, and an avid bike rider. At left is Abbey Stumpf, NNTMA Marketing Communications Manager. At right is Becky Heieck, NNTMA Executive Director. At the first stop, we met a city engineer who works closely with NNTMA to make improvements.Next stop, Westlake Charter School where residents strongly objected to having the associated traffic congestion in their neighborhood. A wide-ranging and complicated plan was created to help with the anticipated problems. Solutions included a walking school bus to and from school every day and a web site so parents know where to park and how to move smoothly through the neighborhood. I left the tour at this point to hurry back to Natomas Park Elementary because the whole group would shortly be in our Project Ride Smart classroom to observe.

at Natomas Park Elementary. There are four 5th-grade classes. Pollyanna and I teach two classes per day between 11 am – 2 pm – great schedule – and we’ll be here all of October.There are 3 classroom sessions where students learn the rules of the road, right-of-way rules, all hand signals, and lots more. They watch short video segments then recap what they’ve learned with prompts from the instructors.Outside, we teach about brain function and the importance of wearing a helmet. One watermelon wearing a helmet is dropped with not a scratch (usually), the other watermelon doesn’t wear a helmet and cracks open when dropped – with much ooh-ing and ahh-ing. Pollyanna, is about to say, “No! Don’t pry open the watermelon.”

Week 2 at Witter Ranch. At 7:00 am each day, 40 bikes were rolled out. Gina and Deanna were there to help along with fifth-grader Gymmat – thank you!Pollyanna prepped classes for the day’s activities.Students wore colored jerseys to identify their group. Before leaving the classroom, they complete a personal safety check.Outside students completed an ABCQuick Check on their bikes before riding.Sometimes a water break at the nearby park is a good idea.On Friday, we organized a few “fun” activities, beginning with a Chaos Box. The goal, after entering a small defined area, is to create order as quickly as possible. In less than 5 minutes every class was able to begin riding in a circle. Always counterclockwise, by the way. Mr McClurg’s class was the fastest at 51 seconds. Just before the start, Neilani began coaching those around her about what to do. I asked her how she already knew the solution. “I figured it out in my head.”The last time I did the Bean Drop, I had to repeatedly sweep up small kidney beans to keep the game going. This time I swept up not a single bean! 1.Use large dry white lima beans. 2.Students must drop one bean at a time in each of 6 buckets and, if the bean doesn’t land in the bucket, the student must stop to pick it up and try again.And there was an improvement to Paper Boy. I wrapped the newspapers in clear packing tape.At the end of each one-hour class, Otter Pops! It was hot, I had one after every class.

This week, I worked at Witter Ranch School. Five classes of 5th graders. The daily arrival time was 7 am – oh my!As technology progresses, overhead projectors are disappearing. ELMOs (document cameras) are more common, but not at this school. So, to teach the Right of Way Rules, I went back to an “old school” solution – paper chart with movable vehicles. If the #1 rule is “First come, first served,” which car should leave the stop sign first? Second? Third?Outside, students prepare to do the ABCQuick Check. A=air in tires. B=brakes. C=chain, chain rings, cassette, cogs. Quick=quick release to adjust seat height.

Only two days this week. It was also Teacher Appreciation Week. The Regency Park PTA welcomed teachers on Monday morning withandI always take the Red group for the street rides. I tell them they’re so lucky to be in the “fun” group (even though they’d been evaluated at a lower skill level).And then there are those special moments when you spot something and it makes you smile. (Thank you, Gina, for grabbing my camera and taking this picture!)

This was week 2 at Regency Park. Two days of blacktop drills and two days of street rides. The team talked with Principal Tim Hammons before the first class.ABCQuick Check with one girl quick to try out her poses.Favorite comment of the week from a boy as we rode over a speed table, “Ooohh, that hill made me swallow my sneeze.”

at Regency Park Elementary. I worked 4 days this week. Five classes of fifth graders, one hour/day for each class. My teaching partner is Doug Williams. The 40 bikes are stored in an unused classroom:This week: 3 days of classroom instruction, 1 day of blacktop drills, and 1 after-school coaching session.A favorite for the kids – the melon drop. Jill and Jack went for a bike ride. Jill was wearing her helmet when she crashed.Sadly Jack refused to wear a helmet and he also crashed. His poor watermelon head cracked, juice dripped out, and everyone oohed and ahhed. Always wear your bike helmet!

A group of local LCIs (League Cycling Instructors) were invited to discuss and review the best practices for teaching Project Ride Smart in North Natomas or the bike education classes in San Juan Unified School District.L-R: Mellissa Meng/NNTMA, Dan Allison/San Juan USD, Elle Steele/San Juan USD & 50 Corridor.

This year, I worked with Mary and Eric from Bike Hikers to build a bike with the student receiving it, Miguel Lopez. In the blue t-shirt was Miguel’s father, an invaluable member of our team since Miguel was a non-verbal special education student.We were part of the morning group in the gym at Natomas Middle School where 25 students built bikes with their support teams.My favorite bike mechanic, Bike Mike (yellow t-shirt) was also there to make sure we built the bike correctly.Once built, Miguel was ready to move to the next room for phase 2: Snacks, a helmet specifically fitted for him, a photo op,a thank-you-card writing station, and a free U-lock and cable.What a great program for North Natomas sponsored by North Natomas Transportation Management Association – the same organization that promotes Project Ride Smart! Students receiving bikes were nominated by their teachers for the content of their character in keeping with Martin Luther King Jr Day.