Novato students rally for bike to school day
Despite the drizzle, a whopping 74% of Lynwood Elementary School students biked, walked, roller-skated or scooted their way to classes Wednesday.
Enthusiasm was high at the school, one of at least 37 in Marin to participate in the 12th annual “National Bike and Roll to School Day.”
The Novato school, with 271 students, was aiming for 100% participation, but 74% was still “as good as it gets,” said Monica Leifer, bilingual coordinator for the local Safe Routes to School program, the event organizer and sponsor.
“Even on a sunny day, 74% would be a miracle,” Leifer said Wednesday. “Even with the rain today, people just got out all their rain jackets, gear and umbrellas. People were committed to making this happen.”
Nathaly Ramos Perez, a 9-year-old third-grader, won the grand prize in the Lynwood raffle for a new bicycle from Cleary Bikes, a Richmond-based kids’ bike dealership. The firm donated a bike for every Marin school.
Another event sponsor, Marin-based Mike’s Bikes, donated helmets and free bike fittings to all the raffle winners throughout the county.
“Class Cycle in Novato also donated 100 bike bells,” said school parent Janet Carter, one of 10 bike-to-school parent volunteers at Lynwood.
The school also raffled off other prizes such as bike toys, frozen treats and 60 $5 gift cards donated by Five Little Monkeys toy store in Novato.
Leifer said Lynwood has been one of the most enthusiastic participants in the bike-to-school program, which runs all year long but which holds five special events in the spring leading up to the national observance.
In addition to the major events, the school holds a “Walk and Roll Day” on the first Wednesday of the month.
“We like walking to school,” said Kairi Leyland, 9, a fourth-grader, referring to herself and her sister Astrid, 6, a kindergartner. “It’s easier than to get in the car.”
Kairi added that the prizes helped add to the excitement — even if they didn’t win the grand prize.
“We like the small prizes we receive on Walk and Roll Days,” Kairi said.
Wednesday’s raffle grand prize was drawn from a stack of business-card-sized tickets that each carried five stamps. The stamps indicated that the child had participated in each of the five major bike-to-school events held at Lynwood since March.
The stamped cards were part of the program’s three-month “Jedi Challenge,” named for the Star Wars characters who also appear in cartoon form on one side of the cards.
Beyond the health benefits of walking and biking, and the reduction in car traffic, the program generates school spirit, Leifer said.
“Lynwood really poured its heart and soul into this contest,” she said, adding that some families even brought music players Wednesday to add to the festivities.
Carter said she has seen a noticeable reduction in the number of cars from parents dropping their children off in front of school during the Jedi Challenge.
Carter and other parent volunteers also have a practice of holding signs in front of the school’s drop-off area, encouraging families who typically drive to “park and walk” part of the way to school.
The strategy reduces traffic congestion around the school, increases safety for all students, and allows students who live too far away to walk or bike to still participate in the program.
“This has been a great success today,” Lynwood principal Rick Van Adelsberg said.
“Folks just stepped up in spite of the rain,” Van Adelsberg said. “This is the least amount of cars I’ve seen at the school since I got here in December.”
Safe Routes to Schools is a program of the Transportation Authority of Marin.