CATCHING THE BIKE BUS WAVE By Tia Swanson

SOMA joins a movement to get kids to pedal to school

Rob Howley, Marshall bike bus captain, gets the kids organized on their way to school. Photo credit: Rob Howley

The sun was just beginning to make its presence felt on a chilly March morning when fourth grader Haley Esperanzate pedaled up to the corner of Midland and Suffolk streets in Maplewood, the first to arrive at the bus stop. She was dressed for the weather, although her jacket was open to better catch the breezes. She was anxious to get moving. She had friends waiting at stops farther down the line. “I like biking with my friends a lot,” she said.

Seth Boyden fourth grader Haley Esperanzate was the first to arrive at the bus stop. She rides with her friends most Fridays.

Before long, others joined her, usually a child partnered with an adult. One guy had a flashing caution triangle on his bike helmet, another had a child carrier attached to his bike frame, and yet another had a baby seat. They gathered, waiting for their leader, Martin Ceperley. He was spied at the top of the small incline that rises as Suffolk crosses Parker, astride a fancy, new electric bike and trailed by his two young children.

Ceperley, outfitted in a smart yellow slicker, was soon joined by a couple of guys in orange vests on road bikes. Ceperley stopped to say hello to all those gathered and checked his phone to get the tunes started. As the first strains of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” boomed out of the giant speaker strapped to the back of his bike, he maneuvered to the head of the line, motioned for others to follow, and set off.

The Seth Boyden Bike Bus – six kids and eight adults strong – was on its way. Those who find themselves on the lesser-traveled roads of SOMA between 8 and 9 on Friday mornings may have encountered a bike bus.

Ceperley started Seth Boyden’s bus in the fall, but very quickly parents at the other schools took notice. There are now bike buses operating at every elementary school in the district except South Mountain, whose location at the top of South Orange Avenue makes biking a daunting prospect. But for those in quieter, flatter locations, bike bus Fridays have become a joyful addition to the school day. “It’s a fun way to start the day,” said Marshall Bike Bus captain Rob Howley. “The kids show up happy.”

Seth Boyden leaders Aaron Kirdz (left) and Martin Ceperley, with Ceperley’s daughter, Nora, at the end of another successful Friday bike bus ride.

Aaron Kirdz, one of Seth Boyden’s other leaders, says the kids’ happiness infects the group. “The energy comes from the children themselves,” he said. “We might look like we’re having fun, but it’s the energy from the children we’re all absorbing. That’s what makes it different than just riding your bike around.” Happiness is not the only payoff. “It’s done a tremendous job building confidence in the kids,” Howley said. “We want to show them they can be independent and strong on their own.” Indeed.

The work that goes into getting a large group of children safely from home to school via bike is not for the faint of heart. Each leader had to develop a route that is mostly flat, less trafficked and about a mile and a half from the school. Each bus includes a w e l l - o i l e d team of sweepers and sprinters. The sweepers stay at the back, encouraging stragglers. The sprinters pedal ahead to close off coming intersections to cars. There are also adults to make sure kids don’t wander across the middle line, or weave in and out among the crowd.

Aside from those careful considerations to safety, however, the enterprise feels remarkably loosey-goosey. As the Seth Boyden bus snaked its way through the streets, more people on bikes kept joining, even though the bus didn’t slow down much. By the time the bus got to Seth Boyden, it was about 50 people strong. Meanwhile, inside the pack, a dad encouraged a young boy complaining about cold hands to keep pedaling. An older boy showed off for the girl beside him by standing and placing both Croc-covered feet on one pedal as he coasted down a small hill. Others sang along to Chappell Roan’s hit “Hot To Go,” making the hand motions for the letters “H-OT-T,” “O-G-O” with one hand as they steered with the other. Parents chatted with each other about recent school performances, playdates and the like. Many of them bike to a coffee spot after the drop-off is complete.

“It’s become a really great way to build community, to meet people,” Howley said. The Bike Bus movement was born in Portland, Oregon, developed by a guy named Coach Balto who has, according to Ceperley, become a “kind of a social media sensation.” (Videos of his rides can be seen on his Instagram page.) Coach Balto’s idea took off, gaining sponsors as it galloped across the country. Those who sign up with Balto’s program now get a set of sleek yellow slickers with “Bike Bus” printed on the back.

Coach Balto and his sponsors also provide the speakers that are such an integral part of the bus ride. “It helps create kind of a party atmosphere,” said Ceperley, though he conceded that he usually uses the shuffle option of his phone and hopes for nothing that’s too inappropriate. Others devote much more time to the playlist. John Speck, the leader of the Clinton Bike Bus, reports that his wife, Cynthia, keeps a careful eye on the pop charts so she can play all the most popular songs for the kids. “It really gets her going.”

Like Balto, SOMA’s Bike Bus posts its routes, times and videos of rides on Instagram. There’s even a SOMA Bike Bus Group Chat, which has been used to organize large community rides, said Speck. The group did a Halloween ride in October, visiting the community’s scariest houses. It also did a ride to Cherry Lane, the thoroughfare that snakes through South Mountain Reservation and is closed to automobiles on Sundays. And there was a recent parents’ ride to the Four City Brewing Company in Orange that included a tour of Montrose. One of the other great things about the bus is that it brings out dads. “That’s just the way it happens,” said Speck. “Generally, moms have lots more on their plates.” That said, Clinton has moms who are part of its leadership team. “There’s really some committed moms who want to get on their bikes,” Speck added. Ceperley noted that “A lot of dads are passionate about biking (so) I think dads are excited to share their love of biking with their kids.” Many of the men associated with the bike bus are regular bikers. Clinton’s Speck bikes to and from the train station each day. And Marshall’s Howley considers himself a bicycle commuter. “Growing up, [my] bike was my main way of getting around, of independence.” That hasn’t changed much. “I do 150 miles a month just bopping around doing errands.”

Howley, who has a large following of bike enthusiasts on Instagram, sees the bike bus as a continuation of his biking advocacy. Like others in the local movement, he is among those trying to “make SOMA a friendly place to get around without a car. The majority of car trips (here) are less than five miles … The idea we’ve relegated everyone to driving is insane.”

The dads agree that one of the main purposes of the bike bus is not about biking at all but about calming traffic. “You notice which drivers pulled over and waved and smiled and which drivers tried to bully their way through because they had to do whatever they think they have to do,” said Boyden’s Kirdz. “The idea is to get people to calm down, be aware of their surroundings and pay attention to their neighbors and community.” Still, even the drivers can catch the joy the biking children bring.

Ken Stanek, the leader of Tuscan’s bike bus, remembers being approached by a neighbor who reported that she had gotten behind a bike bus. He cringed, waiting for the complaint to come. But that, he said, is not what she wanted to report. “She said, ‘It was the cutest thing. I loved it so much.’” There are plenty of folks in the two towns who feel just the same.

Tia Swanson felt the joy of the bike bus on her ride with Seth Boyden students, one of her favorite mornings in a long, long time.