Late Start? More time to ride!

Lewis Elementary in SE Portland has a long history of bike and walk events. A group of dedicated parents host monthly Walk + Bike Celebrations complete with hot cocoa, raffle prizes, and music;  then every Thursday a Bike Train rides from the north while a Walking School Bus heads in from the west. Once a month they also hold a Park & Parade ‘Stop + Walk’ program where parents park their cars in the nearby Key Bank parking lot and walk to school together as a group. Just when you thought there wasn’t anything else left to support walking and biking, they’ve come up with a new idea: A longer, 45-60 minute bike train route into school for those Late Start mornings.

I came along for the first official Late Start Morning Bike Train tour today with parent organizer, Lennie Bjornsen, and two spirited Lewis students. There were cold hands and feet, but also a lot of smiles and laughs. Here’s Lennie going over the map with one of the riders.

We met at a nearby park and followed a route mapped by Lennie and two fellow Lewis parents. They use Google Maps to link the route and meeting points up to other parents on their Walk + Bike email list.

Our tour led us down some of SE Portland’s unpaved streets, which our two riders thought was awesome! They maneuvered the potholes and puddles like pros. Sometimes that ‘maneuvering’ resulted in a little intentional puddle splashing.

One of the best things about taking part in their morning ride was overhearing all the chatter and exclamations as our two riders pointed out everything they were seeing. Holiday decorations, community gardens, parks. It was fantastic. These ladies had a great time taking to the streets of SE.

We only had two riders this morning due to sick kids and busy schedules, but Lennie and fellow parents are planning to keep up the momentum for these longer 45-60 minute rides. They’ve created the route in hopes of picking up the most amount of Lewis kids throughout the surrounding neighborhoods. Perhaps come spring they’ll have a great display of students on wheels.  This morning was a wonderful start.