This Week in the Mercury
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Bikes The Most Photogenic Photo Op of 2009.
Posted by Sarah Mirk on Wed, Oct 7, 2009 at 11:50 AM
Today is Walk and Bike to School Day which means it is the cutest day of the entire year. I stopped by Abernethy Elementary in Ladd's Addition, which was hosting its 2nd Annual bike-a-thon Tour de Ladd in honor of the nationwide kids on bikes day.
To fill your cute quota for the day, here is a shot of Abernethy first graders at the starting line:
More photos and commentary below the cut.
All students in the school compete in the bike-a-thon and as on 9AM this morning, a couple dozen parents stood around sipping coffee and cheering kids on as they biked in laps around the leafy streets.
Bike cop Robert Pickett kicked off the first graders' tour with a few sentences about safety. After Mia Birk had adjusted their helmets and the Abernethy PE teacher reminded the kids that it's unsafe to wave too exuberantly to parents while biking, the kids were off!
- Mia Birk fixes the children.
- Officer Pickett at the front of the stampede.
The first kid across the finish line in the first grade group? The son of a cyclocross racer. Only a few tears were shed among the group. "I'm going to dieeeeeee!" screamed a small girl on a pink bike with training wheels while she pedaled around the rose bushes.
- I don't know what these girls are doing, but they're adorable.
According to Birk, who started Tour de Ladd last year organized Tour de Ladd this year as an Abernethy parent, two thirds of Abernethy kids walk, bike or bus to school every day, a huge change from a few years ago. "All the traffic has disappeared," she gushed.
Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder was also on hand to help cheer on the children. "This is about making the city safe for kids. If it's safe for kids, it's safe for everyone," said Burkholder.
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It was a very excellent event, with multiple kids claiming it was the best day of the year.
Thank you to parents, Abernethy staff, the Abernethy foundation and community members who volunteered their time and resources to the second annual Tour de Ladd. Without their efforts and the leadership of Mia Birk and others, this year's event would not have run so smoothly. Thank you also to Sue Shattuc, former Abernethy parent and founder of Tour de Ladd.
You're right: the photos have a high cuteness quotient.
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