Over 350,000 students across Australia are set to ride, scoot, skate or walk to school on Bicycle Network’s National Ride2School Day on Friday 19 March 2021.
National Ride2School Day is Australia’s biggest bike riding party and the peak of the Ride2School program which works to help children get their 60 minutes of daily exercise by riding a bike to school.
For Millwarra Primary School, it’s an annual tradition as students swap out their usual car trip or bus ride and put on a helmet and cycle to school.
“It’s great for the fitness of the students and it is a part of our curriculum, we run bike education programs at school. So it all fits in with what we teach the children and they just love bike riding,” said teacher Jill Cooper.
She said the event serves as practice for the schools three day bike riding camp at the end of the year.
Bicycle Network General Manager of Public Affairs Anthea Hargreaves said that National Ride2School Day is a great time to start going to school the healthy way.
“National Ride2School Day is a fun way for students and parents to experience the joy of riding a bike. There’s no better time to make riding to school part of your routine,” said Ms Hargreaves.
“Riding to school is free and fun and can also help students perform better in the classroom. Studies have shown students arrive at school energised, alert and more ready to learn.”
Participation numbers in 2021 could receive a boost from the increased interest in bike riding, with a VicHealth survey finding more than 1 in 4 Victorian households with kids have been doing more walking or bike riding during coronavirus than they did in January and February this year.
“If you got a new bike or dusted off your old one during 2020, it will love to get a ride on National Ride2School Day”.
National Ride2School Day is a free event open to all primary and secondary schools in Australia. Schools that register for the day receive a resources pack including posters, promotional material, stickers and a count sheet to tally the number of students who ride to school.
“National Ride2School Day is a great introduction to the wider program and can be the catalyst to creating a school of healthy, active students,” added Ms Hargreaves.
“Ride2School helps break down the barriers to active travel, with schools in the program reporting more than double the national average of students who ride, walk, scoot and skate to school.”
Students won’t just be doing it for themselves, with many schools also fundraising for World Bicycle Relief to send specially designed Buffalo Bicycles to villages in Africa.
Buffalo Bicycles give children in developing countries a way of getting to school safely and quickly. Without access to bikes many children miss out on an education or can be put in risky situations by riding to school.
National Ride2School Day is part of Bicycle Network’s Ride2School program which has been running nationally since 2006. Registrations are now open at ride2school.com.au.
