From Monday, October 7th to Friday, October 11th, The Mob Shop in cooperation with the City of Ojai, the Ojai Police Department and local schools will host Bike to School Week in the Ojai Valley.
The premise of Bike to School Week is simple: provide a safe route for kids and parents to travel to school by bicycle in order to empower kids to ride by themselves, therefore increasing ridership, reducing traffic and providing incentive for the city to create more bike friendly roadways.
When kids (and parents) are provided safe roadways and choose to bike to school the list of benefits is long. Here are just a few, courtesy of Bikes Belong:
• If the number of kids who walk and bike to school returned to 1969 levels, it would save 3.2 billion vehicle miles, 1.5 million tons of CO² and 89,000 tons of other pollutants annually. This is the equivalent of keeping more than 250,000 cars off the road for a year.
• Fourth grade boys who bike or walk to school have lower BMIs and body fat than non-active commuters. Kids who actively commute to school are also more likely to remain at a healthy weight.
• Kids who bike or walk to recreation sites (parks, playgrounds, etc.) use them more often. The safer it is to bike or walk to play sites, the more likely it is that kids will bike or walk there.
The Mob Shop has been working with volunteers to mobilize students, teachers and parents to participate in Bike to School Week. The Mob Shop has offered free safety checks to all participants since mid-September. The safety checks help optimize participation by eliminating small barriers such as flat tires and dry chains. The checks consist of a basic ABC check (air, brakes, chain) for free with recommendations for further work if necessary.
During Bike to School Week, the City of Ojai will close parking on Grand Avenue for the entire week and the Ojai Police Department will patrol bike routes during to-and-from school commute hours.
The remaining critical piece to the plan is to create as much incentive as possible for maximum buy-in. Raffle prizes are a great way to incentivize people. The Mob Shop raffle is based on participation – each time a kid rides to school, s/he will get a raffle ticket placed in the final drawing. The more a child rides, the more chances s/he has to win!
Please contact Kelly Pasco at (805) 798-0544 or Kelly@themobshop.com with any questions or to participate. Please help spread the word and help get our kids out on their bikes!