Riding a bicycle is a timeless activity for kids. Not only does it give them the freedom of travel long before they earn their drivers’ license, but it’s also a great form of exercise. But young people need to have solid biking skills, and know the rules of the road, to ensure they’re safe while pedaling in their communities.

This fall, Ferndale’s older elementary students are going to learn crucial rules for bike safety – or how to ride a bike, if they haven’t learned yet – thanks to a new program launching across the state. Every third, fourth, and fifth grade student in the district will be taught the skills and knowledge required to prevent the most common causes of collisions.

“It would be really cool to see more kids biking to school after this, now that they feel a little bit more comfortable on their bikes and what to do out in the world,” said Becky Lee, physical education teacher at Central Elementary School.

Seattle-based cycling advocacy non-profit group Cascade Bicycle Club launched their “Let’s Go” program in 2016, where thousands of elementary students in the Seattle area learned safe biking skills. Cascade is partnering with the Washington State Department of Transportation to expand the program, expanding to more than 50 schools in the 2023-24 school year and more than 150 schools this year – including Ferndale’s elementary schools. Let’s Go is the largest statewide youth bike education curriculum in the country, according to Cascade Bicycle Group.

Cascade provided Ferndale with a fleet of about 25 kid-sized bikes and helmets. A few of these bikes are “Striders”, which have foot rests instead of pedals. Students kick with their legs to move the bikes, then try and balance.

“The research has shown that training wheels hinder more than help students who don’t know how to ride yet,” said Lee. “Striders make students focus on their balancing first, and once we have that down, we add the pedals.”

There are also a couple adaptive tricycles, for students with differing physical abilities who are unable to ride a traditional bicycle. However, any student can try these tricycles.

During a Wednesday morning at Central, a P.E. class of 4^th and 5^th graders were practicing staying in their “bike lane” (made up of two jump ropes on the ground) on the playground concrete. At the end of these lanes, there were different wooden signs approximating traffic signals – a stop sign, a yield sign, a green light, and a red light. Students had to follow the instruction on each of these signs before making a big loop around the playground.

The students seemed to pick up on the traffic signals very quickly and were already helping each other. After one student asked why another didn’t stop at the yield sign, despite the path being clear, the other student responded, “You don’t have to stop, you only stop if there’s someone there!”

At the end of the class, Lee complimented the students on making sure everyone had enough space to ride. Then, the students and Lee went over “citations,” remembering what errors they made and how they could fix them in the future.

Lee said that many of her students already knew how to ride bikes, but this course will help them navigate busier traffic and level the playing field for those who didn’t yet know how to ride.

“It’s an equity thing, making sure every kid has access,” she said. “This also will help kids feel more comfortable navigating traffic signs, so they’ll feel more comfortable riding in their neighborhoods.”

Central fifth grader Annabelle Heidersdorf said she’s learned how to be a safer bike rider in a group thanks to the program.

“This class has helped me learn to watch out for other people,” she said. “I’m usually alone or just with my sister when I’m on my bike.”

Fellow fifth grader Dylan Bullivant said he loved getting to try out the Strider bike.

“My favorite part is the abundance of different bikes,” he said.

Fourth grader Markus Rincon said he’s feeling more confident about his biking abilities. His favorite part of the session? “Going fast.”

The Let’s Go program is running for three weeks at Central, ending on Oct. 4. Every Ferndale elementary school will get the fleet of bicycles for a three-week period this school year.

Let’s Go’s statewide expansion is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. This supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. More information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.