Second Annual National Bike to School Day
Let the bike bells ring! The National Center for Safe Routes to School announces National Bike to School Day registration is now open. Nearly 950 schools across the country participated in the inaugural national event in 2012. As excitement about the event builds, participation is expected to increase for the 2013 celebration onWednesday, May 8. Schools, community members and parents can register a Bike to School Day event now at www.walkbiketoschool.org.
Bike to School Day is a national event that gives communities across the country the opportunity to join together in bicycling to school on the same day. The event, an exciting celebration for both those new to the experience and those who have been two-wheeling to school for years, is part of the movement for year-round safe routes to school, and encourages bicycling to school as a healthy way for kids and families to make their school commute.
As it did in 2012, the second annual National Bike to School Day builds on the excitement surrounding National Bike Month, led by the League of American Bicyclists each May, and builds off the 16 years of success of International Walk to School Day.
Bike to School Day event registration is free and open to all individuals and/or organizations planning a 2013 Bike to School Day event in the United States. Registering a Bike to School Day event provides organizers access to a variety of downloadable materials, including stickers, certificates, badges and classroom activities. Registrants will also be entered into drawings for Saris bicycle parking racks.
New this year, in addition to being part of National Bike Month, Bike to School Day is part of an international movement calledGlobal Youth Traffic Safety Month. The goal of this effort is to engage and empower youth across the globe to develop and implement youth peer to peer education projects, support increased enforcement of traffic laws and advocate for stronger laws to protect young people on the roads.
Need an extra incentive to participate in this year’s event? Registered schools and communities will be entered into the National Bike to School Day Bicycle Parking Rack Giveaway. Each Wednesday between March 27 and May 8, a winner of a Saris eight-bike Stadium Rack will be drawn from registered schools. Special drawings will also be held for individuals who have registered as resources and for Bike to School Day Pioneers, those schools that registered a Bike to School Day event in 2012 and again in 2013. In all, ten Saris Stadium Racks will be distributed. For complete contest rules, visit: www.walkbiketoschool.org/about-the-events/bike-to-school-day/contest-rules.
Started in 2012 and with 950 registered events in that inaugural year, National Bike to School Day is based on the Walk to School Day model. Walk to School Day was founded in 1997 as a way to bring community leaders and children together to build awareness for communities to be more walkable. The one-day event has now grown to a month-long celebration every October. In 2012, students and parents from more than 4,200 U.S. schools joined millions of Walk to School Day and Month participants worldwide.
Source: The League of American Bicyclists
May 7, 2013
http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/biketoschoolday.php
