Blog

We had an awesome bilingual meeting with our safe routes to school crew in Ceres, CA! 2 out of 3 events today and we rollin strong!

http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2014/09/29/3875517/safe-routes-to-schools-tour-to.html?sp=/99/215/

Thanks for the support!!!

We started off the morning on the corner streets of Central and Glenda avenue rallying for kids safety while
crossing the streets by the school. We held signs with the locals and made the cars think to slow down!

Ahoy folks! So we were up early this morning and arrived at school 1 of 2 buzzing to meet our first school, Great Valley Elementary. The kids were electric. I remember being that age and so impressionable. How did the simple experiences, like riding a bicycle, stick with me to influence who I am today? Maybe the bicycle rodeos at school clung to me more than I thought? Maybe the desire to go my own way, self powered was stronger than I realized.
The central valley is populated with all sorts of folks, from all socio-economic backgrounds, ethnicities and experiences. I wonder if all the relationships I’ve made through cycling, places I’ve been on my bike, and mental gymnastics I’ve worked through while riding my bicycle will be experienced by an elementary school student that I stood in front of today? Is it possible they will be riding their bicycle in 30-ish years and be clinging to the serenity, curiosity and strength they have found on their bicycle? I tell myself holy heck I hope so! My grandiose side says riding a bicycle might end up being the most positive thing in their lives.
Riding to the first school this morning I thought about how thankful I am to have people in my life who want me to be better, who introduce me to new things, who teach me about what they are passionate about and who encourage my growth. I’m pretty sure I am over estimating the influence of our 20 minute presentation, but my mentors always taught me to aim high.

Posted by Aubree

After a good night sleep our team was high energy and ready to go. We started with a beautiful overcast day riding to the Capital of Sacramento where we had a warm welcome of many cyclists that rode with us to our next stop. Jim Brown from Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates (SABA) lead our ride after he shared important information regarding bicycle safety and sharing the road with vehicles. Jim also told us about many improvements that have been made in the area. We passed many fellow cyclists and the kids in our group were smiling ear to ear. Jim lead us to the corner of 58th Ave and Fruitridge Rd where he explained the blessing of a much needed traffic light after a terrible tragedy when 16 year old Michelle Murigi lost her life trying to cross the busy street.

Our team thanked everyone for this great sendoff as we rode south. Thanks to Vanessa for driving our support van and giving us a chance to all ride together. With great momentum Vanessa joined us on her bike and finished the day riding with us. She had to take the train back at 10:30pm to make it to work in the morning.

The ride was pretty flat, and we saw goats, bison, cows and a zebra! The view changed with strawberries, corn, grapes and even a last minute wine tasting 5 miles before we arrived to meet our evening hosts. We finished almost 50 miles in Lodi and met our awesome hosts Jerry and Jeanette. They opened up their outdoor living room to us. We loved their outdoor kitchen/dining with fire pit and hot tub, our own hot shower and coffee pot with coffee for the morning. We will sleep in their garage with 14 bikes a canoe and some fold up beds and air mattresses. Very cozy… slumber party!! Tomorrow will be a big day with school visits and more miles to pedal.

Posted by Darlene

 

HAP TOUR countdown no more! It’s finally here and we women are ready to ride our bikes! Yesterday, at our team meeting you could feel the great energy from all our team members. Everyone is excited for school assemblies, riding from town to town, and putting the healthy active places tour into action! Our van is ready, the food is packed, and the itinerary is set.

Last night, we had our last team meeting in Sacramento before the big day where we ride to Lodi from the State Capitol. We also had our kick off party afterwards where we were able to meet some of our supporters from old friends to colleagues. It was inspiring to see everyone engaging in conversation and that we were all here for one cause, to support Healthy Active Places tour. It was an evening full of laughter, group photos, and delicious food.

From my point of view, it is an honor to ride with these ladies and be apart of this HAP tour. The bike ride is only a week long, but I hope the bike/walk advocacy and local efforts are continued post the ride. I am excited to meet the students, faculty, and new friends we will make along the way. We are going to have some hot days riding in the sun, but bring on the heat and all the smiles as we go from school to school!

All of our stops for the HAP Tour are confirmed!  We have a new EVENTS page on our website so you can find all the details in one place.  Check it out!

Details for our finale event in Fresno on Saturday morning, October 4 are in the flyer at right.

We would love to have you join us for one or several of these events. We’ve already invited local partners, elected officials, and media to meet up with us for the Healthy Active Places experience. Please contact us for more details or let us know where you’d like to connect with us along the way.  Hope to see you!

With less than a week until our journey down the Central Valley kicks off, we have raised over $4500 through individual donations – THANK YOU to our supporters across the country that have given generously to support healthy active kids and communities!

We are just over $1000 shy of our pre-tour fundraising goal of $6000 from individual contributions and we need your help!  Every dollar we raise will help us make a difference in the communities we visit, and support advocacy for Safe Routes to School in communities all across the country.

Help us reach our goal this week – donate today!