Bike To School Month

Biking to school creates daily exercise habits, reduces car traffic and air pollution, and helps teach safe cycling habits. You, your child, and your school can join us for our month or day challenge!

By participating, you can make a difference for the environment and for your health. In 2008, during Cascade's Bike to School Month, 835 elementary school students completed 10,456 trips to school. Middle and high school students completed 583 round trips in the month of May! (Click here for complete 2008 results)

The following information is for elementary schools. Check back soon for information on middle and high school participation!

How to Participate

Cascade Bicycle Club hosts Bike to School Month and Bike to School Day each May (in conjunction with Cascade’s Bike to Work Month) for schools in the Puget Sound area. Cascade also organizes Walk and Wheel Month each October. Your elementary school can participate if you have a volunteer parent or teacher to help organize.

On Bike to School Day, students can cycle to school along with thousands of other cyclists from the greater Seattle area participating in Bike to Work Day. Schools and volunteers set up stations to pass out goodies to students who cycle to school.

If you are interested in signing up your school or have any questions contact Julie Salathé, julies@cascadebicycleclub.org

How it Works

Students sign up at their participating school for Bike to School Month. Rather than competing against each other, students earn prizes by completing as many bike trips as they can and tracking their trips on a calendar. Because every child cannot cycle safely to school, and because the "work" that kids do also includes sports, music lessons, trips to the library, play dates, etc., trips for Bike to School Month can include any trip made by bicycle somewhere he or she needs to go, one round-trip per day. Volunteer parent or teacher coordinators from the school handle student sign ups, publicize the event at the school and distribute prizes (see sample forms below in Bike to School Toolbox). Cascade provides the materials, prizes and support.

The elementary school that makes the most total trips will win a bike stunt team show for their school and an article featuring their Bike-to-School team in the Cascade Courier.

Safety

You know your child and your route to school best, but in general young children are not prepared to ride on the street alone. Most elementary school children ride with their parents or another adult. We envision participation in Bike-to-School Month as a family project, one that may also introduce parents to the fun of cycling with their kids!

We provide weekly safety emails for parents of participants as part of Bike to School Month (see samples below in Bike to School Toolbox).

Bike to School Toolbox

You can download sample to Bike to School Month materials below.