‘Tis the season to be jolly and pretty much nothing makes me happier right now than my hubby’s amazing high school students. My husband has been teaching at the same school for several years now and, since both my daughters have been enrolled in the on-campus daycare program, I’ve grown to have pretty high expectations for the students. However, what I’m seeing lately blows my mind. Within the past few months, there has been some major momentum to get a cycling club started on campus (with my husband serving as the sponsor). As the administrative details are getting ironed out (oh the joys of bureaucracies), the kids have been moving at full-force. High school students taking initiative–talk about holiday miracles! Their sense of dedication and professionalism is seriously leaving me speechless–one of the main reasons I haven’t written about it yet.
A few weeks ago, the students came into class and told Jesse that they had formed a bike bus on the way to school. Really. Take a moment to digest that. These kids took it upon themselves to get organized, meet up, and take the lane–in Orlando! If you aren’t thoroughly amazed, I clearly haven’t done an adequate job explaining how nasty the roads are here. This is, after all, a city built in large part around a theme park. And they aren’t taking over just any road; they are riding through some of Orlando’s worst traffic sewers.
Keri and Robert of FBA met up with Jesse’s students to film the bike bus and to be honest, I was really nervous. I’m the worrier of the family and all I could think about was a bunch of teenagers tormenting the drivers. Check this out:
This fills me with such a sense of hope–I believe real change is not only possible, but now inevitable, for Orlando. It makes me believe my children might be able to recapture some of that joy and freedom we had growing up because of the change these kids are bringing.
Obviously, one key thing is missing from this video. My inner-worrier was quick to pick up on the lack of helmets. “Ahh. All is doomed after all! They’ll never be convinced to wear helmets! And things could have been so nice.” The helmet issue was discussed at the following bike club meeting and it was as simple as deciding that the club would design a team helmet. “The football team wears helmets and nobody questions that,” they reasoned. Seriously?? So just like that, helmets are part of the club.
I love their club mission, “To teach the rules of the road when it comes to bike riding and to bring people together with a mutual love of riding bikes.” They’re eager to learn good riding techniques and they’re already talking about how they can impact their community through club events. No wonder the masses are scared of America’s youth. With motivated kids like this, they sure as hell ought to be. Better start pedalin’, for the times they are-a changin’.
They are an inspiration. The embodiment of empowerment. Hope for the future!
Nothing redefines who the roads are for like people (and especially young people) taking them back! This is OUR public utility, the use of it is predicated on “first come, first served” not speed or size or might-makes-right.
I’ll add that during the 5 mile ride (half of which is on a traffic sewer) there was not a single honk. I know that is not the case for the kids every day, but motorists were very respectful of them that day (Robert and I got honked at twice on the way out to meet them, which was opposite the flow of traffic and a nearly-empty road at that hour).
We’ll be teaching them to teach the class you took, so they can teach new club members, and take it to other schools.
What a great story. It beats the usual filtered ones we hear on the daily news. Thank you for sharing.
Cool!
YAY! What a cool club these folks have started. I love that they have just made this happen. I’m all for positive peer pressure. When other kids see these kids cycling to school, they are likely more apt to give it a try, too.
And YAY, also, for high school teachers who sponsor such clubs
H.G. Wells is attributed to saying, “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race.”
I think it goes double or triple in this case!
Christmas comes early (at least for me)!
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Julian, Angie Ross. Angie Ross said: Peace, Love, Hope, and High School Students: http://bit.ly/6QVtn0 @streetsblog @completestreets [...]
That is so cool!
Thanks to your husband for sponsoring such a thing.
And thanks to the kids for taking it upon themselves to just do it. I find that as we get older, we are just too afraid to “just do it” and be more spontaneous and we care too much about what people will think or do.
I wish there was a bike club when I was in high school.
Way cool!!
[...] That's the message at the end of this terrific video about a student-initiated bike bus in Orlando, Florida — a city with some of the meanest streets in the nation. Shot by CommuteOrlando Blog's Keri Caffrey, it comes to us courtesy of Streetsblog Network member 4onaQuarter. [...]
[...] That’s the message at the end of this terrific video about a student-initiated bike bus in Orlando, Florida — a city with some of the meanest streets in the nation. Shot by CommuteOrlando Blog’s Keri Caffrey, it comes to us courtesy of Streetsblog Network member 4onaQuarter. [...]
What an inspiration. I wish there was a bike bus when I was in school.
Thanks for that great start to my morning. Gives me hope for the human race. I hope this spreads.
It would probably be a good idea to raise their local media profile to discourage harassment from motorists.
I lived in Orlando from 1992 to 2003 and on occasion I commuted by bike. Which was always a little tricky because I was riding solo. These kids showed some real iniiative and instead of waiting for a solution they made their own.
If you don’t have a bike bus at your school just leave some notes on the bikes you see at your school asking the bike owners if they would like to join you for a safe ride to school. It shouldn’t take long before the word of mouth creates a group of riders to form a bike bus.
[...] That's the message at the end of this terrific video about a student-initiated bike bus in Orlando, Florida — a city with some of the meanest streets in the nation. Shot by CommuteOrlando Blog's Keri Caffrey, it comes to us courtesy of Streetsblog Network member 4onaQuarter. [...]
[...] That's the message at the end of this terrific video about a student-initiated bike bus in Orlando, Florida — a city with some of the meanest streets in the nation. Shot by CommuteOrlando Blog's Keri Caffrey, it comes to us courtesy of Streetsblog Network member 4onaQuarter. [...]
Fantastic! This is really inspiring — hope the bike bus grows into a bike train.
-Eric in Brooklyn, NY
[...] That's the message at the end of this terrific video about a student-initiated bike bus in Orlando, Florida — a city with some of the meanest streets in the nation. Shot by CommuteOrlando Blog's Keri Caffrey, it comes to us courtesy of Streetsblog Network member 4onaQuarter. [...]
The whole thing is amazing guys…you guys are amazing!
[...] Streetsblog (via 4onaQuarter ) points us to a high school ‘bike bus’ in a League bronze-level Bicycle Friendly Community [...]
I’m here via Streetsblog. This video is terrifically inspiring. Congratulations to your husband and all the kids.
Just a reminder. There is no conclusive evidence that helmets help in accidents. Skim the recent academic literature.
You. All. Rock.
I grew up in central Florida (in the ’80s and ’90s) and I can remember how frustrating it was to be stranded in a car culture, dependent on my parents for rides. I am soooo happy to see these people taking their freedom back. Keep up the momentum — every high school in Florida should start something like this!
And yeah, yay for teachers who help students start their own clubs — those kids will remember you forever. I know I do.