Back to School the Outride Way—Focus, Fitness, and Fun!
As we ramp up for the new school year, everyone is facing challenges due to COVID-19. At Outride, we want to turn these challenges into opportunities to improve your health—both mentally and physically.
We learned at our recent Research Summit about the positive impact of exercise and how cycling can benefit the brain. So, to help you navigate the path to education this fall, whether it’s virtual or in person, we’ve collected some resources and words of wisdom to share from our Outride Athlete Ambassadors, Riding for Focus students, School Champions, and Outride partners! We hope you find you find information useful—Read on, and Ride on!
FOCUS—Safety First & Resources to help!
Special thanks to Stanford Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital who was a partner and supporter of Outride when it first launched in 2016. In partnership and collaboration with the Trauma Center at Stanford Health Care and the County of Santa Clara Public Health Department, they produced Getting from Here to There Safely. This is a fantastic guide and resource for cyclists and families everywhere! Share it widely so more people know the rules of the road and how to be safe and respectful riders.
Additional Bike Resources Here:
A message from our partners at Active Schools—Physical Education and Physical Activity are an integral part of the education process during COVID-19. Outride has signed the Active Schools statement on the importance of physical education and physical activity along with over 70 active partners to focus on the health and well-being of all students. Read the statement here.
Active Schools also has a comprehensive list of free resources for your family at home or in school.
Outride at Home Bike Resources, a compiled list of bike safety resources, tips, trainings, and more.
Check out resources for parents, students, and teachers from the US Department of Education that can help make sure you are ready to make this school year one of the best.
Back to School Tech Guide, by Common Sense Media, features articles and recommendations in both English and Spanish.
For Parents, check out the CNN Health Biking your Way to Better Health, How to Reboot your Workout Routine four-part series.
FITNESS—Schools that take the lead and show us the way
Kids in Portage Central and Portage West Middle Schools have been learning that focus, fun, and fitness are as easy as riding a bike.
The Riding for Focus program has been running for three years at Portage Central, and one year at Portage West in Southwest Michigan. Students from 6th to 8th grades get to learn the basics of bikes in physical education classes. Wearing a helmet, rules of the road, maintenance, and basic pedaling techniques are all a part of the curriculum. But there's also a behavioral and emotional angle, too. Our studies show biking reduces ADHD symptoms, and it also has a demonstrable impact on student behavior. Students who reported not liking PE had fun Riding for Focus! Read more in this news article by Second Wave News.
At the Outride Research Summit, Outride Research Manager Esther Walker shared a snapshot on just how much fun the students had in the Riding for Focus Program this past season.
John Dunlop, PE instructor at PCMS, says that according to his principal Jeff Hamilton, disciplinary issues have decreased in the three years of the program. “It's just a better all-around environment at our school”, Dunlop says. Dunlop has been teaching physical education for 27 years and shared there are very few things you could do in a physical education setting that address so many things for students like balance, coordination, and social and emotional topics. Through the school program, Mr. Dunlop, along with the support of other school staff members, has exposed more than 700 students to the sport of cycling. John has also offered bike-handling clinics for parents and staff of the school, many of whom now share a love for bicycling.
Portage West Middle Schools PE instructor Jim Righter says bike riding is all about "a sense of freedom, especially for kids." He continues, "bikes are a powerful thing. They offer you a sense of freedom that you just don't get, even in a car." Though the middle school's first year with the program was cut short by COVID-19, Righter says, "The limited anecdotal data that I have is that kids being on bikes has been nothing but beneficial to my students." The research backing the program "indicates that riding a bike is a strong indicator of success for kids. Not just physically, but also mentally."
Two Riding for Focus schools in Charleston, South Carolina are incorporating cycling to their PE programs as a means to help students achieve academic, health, and social success. St. James Santee Elementary-Middle School began the program last year, after receiving “a fleet of 26 mountain bikes from Outride’s cycling program.” Deer Park Middle School will begin the program in the 2020-21 school year.
Audra Pinckney, instructional coach at St. James-Santee, said that “the Riding for Focus cycling curriculum addresses issues of focus, depression, struggles at school and we use the curriculum in a personal way.” Pinckney tells the students to “ride out their struggles” and says that by the end of the lesson, “the students are laughing and smiling and ready to tackle the day.” Audra was awarded the “Cool Teacher Award” this past year so she is hip to what kids know and like!
Science Lesson 101—Exercise Benefits the Brain!
At our Outride Research Summit earlier this month, Dr. Allan Reiss and Aaron Piccirilli at the Stanford University Research Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences shared their latest research on the effects cycling on brain function and cognition with ADHD. Dr. Reiss shared there is strong evidence that exercise can improve symptoms of ADHD and no doubt exercise can increase cognition, heart rate, and brain health. Below are 2 slides capturing Outride enters Phase 2 of the study and how Stanford researchers use the fNIRS technology to measure changes in oxygenated hemoglobin as a proxy for brain activity. Read the full Outride Research Summit recap and findings on our newsblog.
More Research Resources & Reading to Boost Your Brainpower
Active Living Resources, from the University of California, San Diego, presents evidence available about a variety of school-based strategies for promoting physical activity. They highlight health and policy implications to make changes that will help children be active before, during and after school.
Why a Little Bit of Exercise Can Help Academically with Kids with ADHD, Washington Post, by Ben Opipari, August 15, 2020.
The Benefits of Exercise for Children’s Mental Health, NY Times, by Perri Klass, M.D., March 2, 2020.
BE INSPIRED—Our Outride Ambassadors share how to get through challenges and reach goals.
Allison Tetrick is a 2 x Gravel World Champion (2017 and 2018), 2014 Bronze Medalist Team Time Trial UCI World Championships, and USA National Team, Pan American Games.
It is our responsibility to learn and evolve. We need to be supportive and give the stage to those that need it. We can share the stories and use our platform to outride racism. The bike means freedom and expression. It gives us the ability to explore ourselves and those around us. Use the bike for good, gain confidence in YOU, and give support to others. The most difficult conversations are probably the ones that are most important to have. Listen, talk, share, learn, and grow. I am proud of Specialized and Outride's commitment to continue to invest in increasing opportunity and diversity in cycling. We are stronger together.
-Allison Tetrick, Outride Ambassador
For most of the last twenty years, I’ve been focused on riding my bike while exploring and spaces, and really great friendships are some of the greatest additions. I guess to really simplify things.For a long time, my life was very focused on being better at riding. Now, my riding is very focused on being better at life.
-Dylan Sherrard, Outride Ambassador + photographer
Additional Resources for Mental Health
Special thanks to our partner Mental Health America (MHA)