“Air! Brakes! Chains!” they yelled to “Mr. G,” their physical education teacher, after he showed them how to inspect their bicycles for potential problems.
Dressed in orange vests and bright blue helmets, the students climbed onto Diamondback Mini Viper BMX bicycles and began to pedal. Some careered around a course set up in the gymnasium. Others did not get past the starting line.
“I’ve tried three wheels before, but not two,” said Vicky Zou, 7. “I’m a little nervous.”
The students are among the first to take part in a new D.C. Public Schools program to teach every second-grader how to ride a bicycle. The school system, with help from the District Department of Transportation and private donors, purchased 1,000 bikes that will rotate to every elementary school by the end of the school year.
