(Photos © J. Maus)
This morning on my way to the office, a sign at the corner of North Michigan and Alberta caught my eye; it read “Beach Bike Train meet up spot – 8:30 – Join Us.” It was about 8:25, so I decided to wait around and see if anyone showed up.
A few minutes later I saw a line of kids and parents pedaling toward the spot. One of them was Laurie Paulsen, a Beach parent who I’d met last summer at a nearby farmer’s market.
As kids (and kid-like parents) zoomed in circles around a parking lot waiting for others to show up, I chatted with her for a minute.
All aboard!
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Beach parent and bike train
organizer Laurie Paulsen. |
Paulsen said they’ve been doing the bike trains for about a month and word-of-mouth has helped them grow in popularity. This morning they had about 6-7 kids and Paulsen reports they’ve had as many as 30 people total in the past. The idea is simple, meeting and riding together gives support to new riders and it’s more fun for the kids.
Paulsen has worked hard to promote biking to the school and is excited for this Friday, when she hopes to have 50 people meet in various parts of the neighborhood and then bike to school together.
According to other parents I know who have kids at this school, it has undergone quite a transformation in terms of bike-friendliness in recent years. Stay tuned for an article about how they’ve done it by contributor (and Beach parent) Chris Sullivan.