More than 200 second and third graders received new bicycles as they graduated from a D.C. program that taught them how to safely ride.
Students from seven D.C. elementary schools participated in Thursday’s “graduation on wheels.”
“It's great to give back to the community, and I mean, what kid doesn't love a bike, you know?” said volunteer John Wolfe, who helped assemble the bikes and fit them for the kids. “Yeah, it's just great to be out here and seeing smiles on their faces.”
The program launched in 2015.
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“Some of them are a little scared and some of them are like, ‘Yo, let me go. I just want to do some tricks,’” Wolfe said. “They're so happy; they're so excited.”
Second grader Mykal Cooper, 8, said he plans to ride his new bike to King Elementary School.
“I'm looking forward to ride it, do wheelies and drive with one hand,” he said.
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And he’ll do it safely.
“You put a helmet on, you always put an arm pass on, so you don't get hurt,” he said.
“Learning how to ride at this young age, you will have this skill for the rest of your lives,” Mayor Muriel Bowser told the students.
In addition to the bikes, each student got a helmet, a bike lock and passes to this DC Bike Ride Sept. 7, when the city shuts down 20 miles of roads to allow cyclists to ride the streets.
