Students take part in Bike to School Day

After a long winter that was trying hard to be spring, precipitation has finally arrived. Unfortunately, in typical Gunnison fashion, its timing wasn’t the best.

Wednesday, May 6, was Bike to School Day at Gunnison Elementary School. The young students braved the cold rain and snow in jackets, hats and gloves. 

Preparations for the event have taken place all week at the school. Physical education teacher Matt Harris joined forces with neighborhood services officer Doug Spann and parks and recreation events manager Andy Eflin to teach the kids about bike safety. 

On Monday and Tuesday, the grades were broken up into time slots and split into different stations that taught skills such as bike balance through obstacles, how to safely navigate intersections and what side to ride on. 

Biking is an integral part of the Gunnison community and deserves the same time and effort given to getting kids on skis. Harris helped to make that effort possible. 

Harris said the school received a $1,200 grant from the city to help provide the elementary schoolers with helmets, bike locks and other equipment. 

Riding a bike helps kids foster a sense of independence and freedom. According to an article in the Atlantic from last July, the pastime, like many other outdoor activities for kids, has begun to dwindle. Since the 1990s, the number of kids who ride a bike multiple times a year has been cut in half. Efforts by the Gunnison Elementary School are helping to combat that in our community. 

After Wednesday’s ride, bikers received a raffle ticket from Harris and other staff members, a little incentive to participate in the event. Harris says he’ll be calling out ticket numbers until he runs out of prizes in the next two weeks, drawing each day at the end of school. This event marks the beginning of the countdown to the end of the school year, and kids are eager for summer, despite the inclement weather. 

Teachers and volunteers camped out throughout town to help the kids get to school on their own two wheels. Routes were set all the way from Tall Texan to Whitewater Park and everywhere in between.