Kick-Off On Monday, May 7
A significant percentage of the schools’ students are expected to bicycle on the challenge’s first day tomorrow Monday, May 7. Last year on Day 1, a total of 1,001 students biked to school, including 527 students to Bay Middle School (64% of the schoobl; pictured above), and 276 to Rocky River Middle School (44% of the school). The schools participating in Bike To School Challenge are:
Bay Middle School
(27725 Wolf Road)
Bay High School (29230 Wolf Road)
Rocky River Middle
School (1631 Lakeview Avenue)
Root
Middle School (333 W. Sturbridge in Medina)
Claggett
Middle School (420 E. Union Street in Medina)
For
regular updates and more information about Bike To School Challenge, visit www.centurycycles.com/to/BTS or
follow it at www.facebook.com/BikeToSchoolChallenge.
Bike
To School Challenge vs. National Averages
· In
2011, Bike To School Challenge dramatically increased the use of bicycles as a
means of transportation to school. During the three-week program last year, 53%
of Bay Middle School biked each day (430 students per day on average) and 31%
of Rocky River Middle School (193 students per day on average). Each school’s
number of cyclists remains above national averages after the program’s
conclusion, according to random bike rack counts.
· Since
Bike To School Challenge began in 2008 in Bay Village, Bay students have
pedaled a total of 102,803 miles during the three weeks each May. This is in
stark contrast to national bicycling trends.
· In
2009, only 13% of students in grades K through eight bike or walk to school (in
1969, that number was 48 percent), reports Safe Routes to School National
Partnership. According to Bike To School Challenge surveys and bike counts,
currently fewer than 5% of Root and Claggett Middle School students are biking
to school, a statistic the program strives to improve.
· A
report concludes that changing the habits of just 20 percent of children living
within two miles of school to get them to bicycle or walk to and from school
instead of being driven would be the equivalent of taking 60,000 cars off the
road each year, preventing the emission of over 350,000 tons of carbon dioxide
and 21,500 tons of other pollutants. (Source: Safe Routes to School: Steps to a Greener Future,
prepared for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by Safe Routes to
School National Partnership)
· As
much as 30% of morning traffic is generated by parents driving their children
to school. One-third of schools are in “air pollution danger zones.”
· From
1976 to 2008, the percentage of overweight children 6 to 11 years old more than
tripled. There are many potential benefits of physical activity for youth,
including weight control, reduction in the risk of diabetes, stress reduction,
relief of ADHD symptoms, and even better academic performance. In an article
published January 2012 in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine,
researchers found that participation in physical activity is positively related
to academic performance in children.
· Bicycling
to school gives children time for physical activity and an opportunity to be
outdoors, a sense of responsibility and independence, and the entire community
benefits when there is less traffic congestion and better air quality.
How
It Works
Students
at Bike to School Challenge schools carry a “Ride Card” that is stamped
each day they ride a bike to school. When they accumulate four bicycle rides to
school, students receive a free t-shirt from main Bike To School Challenge
sponsor and organizer Century Cycles bicycle store. The more they bike, the
more they can win – every Ride Card they fill up earns them more entries into a
grand prize raffle. Safety is also rewarded: They earn twice as many entries if
they wear a bicycle helmet.
The
program concludes with assemblies at each school, to show the students the
environmental impact of their efforts, receive congratulations from sponsors
and dignitaries, and draw the grand prize winners’ names. The grand prizes
include:
-
Two
bicycles per school from Raleigh Bicycles;
-
Two
$1,000 scholarships for Bay High School seniors from Raleigh Bicycles;
- Bicycling accessories and gift cards from Century Cycles;
- Gift
cards and prize packages from Subway, Honey Hut, Cleveland Cavaliers,
local rec centers, and more;
- There is a special grand prize drawing for a Cedar Point gift card for the students at each school who biked every day of Bike to School Challenge.
- The schools can also win a grand prize from Bike To School Challenge. Raleigh Bicycles has offered a $500 award for bicycling or physical education improvements at each school if it exceeds their bicycling benchmarks from 2011 (or pre-Bike To School levels).
Century Cycles is the main corporate sponsor of Bike To School Challenge and helps organize the program for the schools. National bicycle manufacturer Raleigh Bicycles is the other major corporate sponsor. At Bay schools, the program is also sponsored by Subway, Honey Hut, the Bay Village Kiwanis, Bay Schools Parent Teacher Student Association, Project Earth Environmental Club and the Bay Skate and Bike Park Foundation. In Rocky River schools, Subway, Honey Hut and the Rocky River PTA are also sponsors. In Medina, Subway and Medina Schools are also sponsors
Bay
Bike To School Challenge began in 2008
Inspired
by a student car boycott to protest high gas prices in 2007, Century Cycles
owner Scott Cowan approached his alma mater Bay High School about what he could
to encourage more bicycling to school. Bike To School Challenge was born and
was enthusiastically embraced by the students and faculty. Participation in
2008 exceeded organizers’ expectations. In 2009, the program was expanded to
include Bay Middle School. It expanded to Rocky River Middle School in 2011 and
to the Medina middle schools this year. In 2010, Bike To School Challenge won
the city’s Project of the Year Award from the Bay Village Community Council. 
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