Did You Know? Fast Facts Friday: Back to School

Some children dread it, some children love it, some children just like getting a new backpack, clothes, and shoes! For many of our readers, back to school is synonymous with bike to school! For today’s Fast Fact’s Friday we’re going to take a look at some stats around going back to school and biking your way there!

• The first thing that many parents think of as their little learner gets ready to ride off to school for the day is safety. And good for them. We could go into a list of the basic safety and helmet tips to keep your child safest, but we did that last year in a Fast Facts Friday post around the same time. For some updated and current information on safety tips for biking to school check out the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s America Goes Back to School Program. Or check out the Family Corner’s Back to School Bicycle Safety Tips. The Creston News Advertiser (Iowa) is offering up some useful back-to-school road safety tips for children and parents. Similarly, WAHM.com has 6 Back to School Bicycle Safety Tips … #2 on their list: Insist on a Helmet!
• Over at the Coloradoan.com, Rick Price, Ph.D., League of American Bicyclist cycling instructor and safe cycling coordinator for the Fort Collins Bike Co-op, offers some insight on the Safe Routes to School program. The bike-friendly city of Fort Collins, CO has received a Safe Routes to School grant for 2010- 11 to teach kindergartners through eighth-graders how to walk and bike to school safely. The grant will pay the Bike Co-op to teach every P.E. teacher in those grades the basics of bicycle and pedestrian safety.



• Over at the Huffington Post, they’re offering the Best Bike-to-School Tips To Teach Your Kids. In a nutshell, they say: 1) Stock up on bike-safety essentials, 2) Arrange a Ride-Pool, 3) Practice traffic skills, 4) Let your kids goof off … safely, 5) Make a route map, and 6) Ride with your kids. (Bike To School: Best Tips To Teach Your Kids, HuffingtonPost.com)
• Looking for some fun bike-related, back to school events? Start with a bike giveaway! Little Caesars, in cooperation with Pepsi, is giving away a new bicycle and helmet to one lucky person on September 8, 2010. Each time you purchase a Hot-N-Ready or other specialty pizza in our Castle Hayne (Wilmington, NC) store you will be eligible to register and win a bicycle and helmet. (StarNewsOnline.com)
• Alex’s Pro Bicycle Shop, in partnership with a host of other groups, his hosting a Back to School Charity Ride where they will be collecting school supplies to benefit the children of the Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center. The center provides healthcare to thousands of needy children in the Davie, FL community, and are also one of the sole providers of specialized care for many illnesses, (i.e. hearing loss, autism, asthma, HIV, etc…) The ride will be split into two: one fast group and one moderate group, each with its own SAG support. There will be one stop where riders will receive refreshments and school supplies will be presented to the Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center representatives. (MiamiBikeScene.Blogspot.com)

Do you have any bike-related, back to school tips that we might have left off this list? If so let us know by leaving a comment, or tweet us @BellTrueFit.