Bicycle Program Helps Build Students’ Self-Esteem

Feet in place and safety helmets fastened, a group of young cyclists from an East Los Angeles high school pedaled down the Venice Beach Bike Trail on Thursday morning as part of a bicycle safety awareness program.

“It’s a fun way to get in shape,” said student Ileana Sandoval. “I think the bike ride will get people excited to ride more.”

Sandoval and the 35 other cyclists attend Ramona High School, an alternative school for students with behavioral problems, failing grades or truancy problems.

They rode along a 13-mile course to Manhattan Beach with escorts from the Los Angeles Police Department Bike Patrol and other bicycling teams.

The students are participating in Bike L.A./Safety Training, a program that has reached more than 80,000 students at 40 middle schools and high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District since it was introduced in June.

The goal of the project is to show youths the benefits of bicycling as a recreational activity, a competitive sport, a means of transportation and as part of a law enforcement career.

The Woodland Hills-based program uses videos, classroom lesson plans and demonstrations that teach basic bicycling techniques and reinforce the importance of safety helmets. Its $617,000 budget comes primarily from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

The program, which can last from two days to five weeks depending on the group of participants, also lends the bicycles and helmets to students who go on the bike rides.

For Frances Vilaubi, dean at the high school, the program has additional benefits.

“It builds the students’ self-esteem,” Vilaubi said. “In participating in the bike ride, they’re all helping each other achieve a common goal. We started the Ramona Cycle Club with 40 students [when the program was introduced]. That’s the most participation of any club at our school.”

The program is coordinated by Tana M. Ball, former coach and competitor with the United States cycling team, who started a similar project in San Diego.

Ball, 26, of Chatsworth, said she hopes to reach more than 400,000 students through the program.

“When I raced I saw how so many other countries used bikes as a form of transportation,” Ball said. “Hopefully, we can introduce more kids to bicycling as an alternative form of commuting.”