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Riding For Focus Training and Summit, Summer 2017

Mike Sinyard, owner and creator of Specialized Bike Company


Riding mountain bikes with kids is something I have dreamt about for years. As a teacher and a cyclist I have always felt that there were ways that biking could help children achieve academic, health and social success. I ran a few informal groups two or three times, but it was always tricky finding bikes for kids who didn't have their own, and the bikes the kids brought had to be assessed and often times required repair before they could be ridden. Biking was also seen as an extra-curricular add-on, not an activity that could happen during the school day. With all the challenges, I didn't see a path forward. Until now.

 In late February of 2017, I had a chance meeting with my friend, Kevin Shute. Kevin works at the YMCA and is an avid cyclist and cycling advocate (as evidence of his commitment to cycling, consider that he commutes daily, all year long--in Maine). After chatting for a bit about nothing in particular he asked, "Hey Lawrence, have you heard about this grant that's giving bikes away? I think it might be with Specialized -- I'm not sure which company it is -- but it sounds really promising." I hadn't heard about it. I went home and typed "bike grant specialized" into Google. Up came a page describing Riding For Focus. As an avid, lifelong cyclist myself, I realized instantly what an extraordinary opportunity this was, and how perfectly it fit our location, our school and our community. 

 I checked with my principal and superintendent to make sure this was a program they were interested in me pursuing, and once I got the thumbs up, I went right after it. We made the first cut for the grant, and then submitted a video where I reached out to colleagues, to community members, to students, and to local non-profits to make connections and build support. Specialized liked what they saw, and Bath Middle School was awarded the Riding For Focus Grant for 2017.
Specialized HQ in Morgan Hill, California

Bath Middle School is among twenty schools that will receive a fleet of hard-tail mountain bikes this fall. These are really nice bikes. You can read about them on the Specialized website, and maybe get a sense of why I am so excited to get them for our students! Having access to quality gear results in more kids riding, less frustration, and better outcomes. With these bikes, we should expect great things.

We'll be getting 25 of these!

The Specialized Foundation flew representatives from all twenty schools out to Morgan Hill, California at the end of July for training and orientation. I got to meet likeminded educators from California, Washington, Idaho, Utah, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, and Louisiana. It was inspiring to meet so many AMAZING teachers from across our country.
Training at Specialized HQ
We spent the bulk of our time learning about the Riding For Focus curriculum created by Central Michigan University professors Ray Allen and Ben Rollenhagen. For someone like me who is not a Physical Education teacher but is an expert cyclist, it was critical to have cycling instruction broken up into digestible chunks for kids. The plan is for each site to roll out the curriculum in a consistent way, so we can look for any reliable trends in data we collect on student performance in response to cycling.

Specialized also offered us the use of some their top of the line bikes in the moments when we weren't busy (before 7:00 am most days!). A group of us got out for an amazing pre-dawn ride on the trails winding around the Coyote Reservoir.



The training culminated with a symposium at Stanford University. Leading researchers and practitioners from around the world spoke about Attention Deficit Disorder, Brain Chemistry and Physiology, and the positive impacts of cycling on human development and overall wellbeing. 
Me and Mike Sinyard

 

Much of what was presented aligns closely with the work of Dr. John Ratey of Harvard who has shown strong evidence of improved brain function resulting from exercise. Human brains release a chemical called BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) after exercise that improves our memories. BDNF is not available in pill form, so exercise is the only way to access this powerful, natural medicine. 

Being part of Riding For Focus is a tremendous honor and holds a lot of promise for our kids and our school. We plan to kick off the program in late September and I'll be updating this blog regularly. 

Ride on!





























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