Hey Ya’ll,
So I’ve been really lucky to have been invited to hang out at Detroit School for the Performing Arts and University Prep Academy Elementary School this week. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot. Basically, my job is super awesome. Thanks for donating bikes or shopping at our store so I can have this type of fun and get paid to do it.
Today, I went to University Prep Academy and hung out with a large amount of first graders. We talked about wearing helmets and we did some turn signals together. I’m glad I’m not a first grade teacher because keeping that much energy focused is super hard! However, that energy is what is so great!
It made me wonder, at what point do people lose that sort of excitement for bicycles? Or really, when do we lose that sort of excitement for anything ya know? I’m on a search for adult enthusiasm. It is out there and I need to find it.
Until that time though I’m happy with child enthusiasm and I’m looking forward to the ride that I will be going on with those first graders this Saturday. PS – if you are a volunteer and want to help chaperone the ride, give the programming office a call.
Yesterday I went to the Detroit School for the Performing Arts and met so many students I can’t begin to remember them all. I took our stationary racing bikes with me (or as we call them Tandem Sprintz!) and had the students race the tandem bikes.
However, before they could race, I had the students answer me a question: Why don’t you bike to school? This school is pretty nice outside and in. Some money has gone into this school and one thing they did right was install a bunch of bike racks out front. These are pretty nice bike racks. Look at them: 
(This photo was taken by a machine owned by Google)
These racks look the same as when I got there…no bikes on them. If you’ve ever ridden down Cass near Selden when school gets out you have seen the traffic jam that is kids getting picked up from this school.
So, “Why don’t you bike to school?” I got some answers. Some thought that bikes weren’t “cool” even though they were lined up to ride the stationary bikes without worrying about coolness. Others didn’t want their bike stolen. Many students said they lived too far away or got rides to school.
I’m going to copy down all the answers I got and share them here on this website because…why not? Lets find out why kids aren’t riding bikes to school. If we don’t know WHY they aren’t doing it, how do we help fix it?
My guess is that the first step is helping students get access to good quality locks for a reasonable price. Once those kids ride to school, they will be the “pioneers” or “early investors” as they would say in economics. Then it will become “cooler” and more and more youth will ride.
Next thing you know, those bike racks become worth the investment and actually have bikes on them. We have healthier youth and less traffic jams. We suddenly live in a pretty cool world.
The first step has already been done. We have an active biking community and we have teachers that care. Forgive me for only knowing first names of the teachers, but Mr. Dimitri (health teacher at the School for the Performing Arts) and Miss Mildred (first grade teacher at University Prep) are great examples of community leaders trying to work with groups like the Hub to find answers to these problems. So I thank both of those teachers for inviting us out. We are happy to work with them.
If you would like us to come to your school, give our programming office a call and we can work something out.
If you don’t work for a school and want to help, donate some bikes! We have been busier this year than any before and we hope to work with as many youth as possible, so we are in need to many bikes of all different sizes.
See you all soon!
– jason x
the Hub of Detroit