Having never seen any children playing outside, Theresa Sternig did not know if there were any other children in her Piscataway neighborhood besides her own. The neighborhood was established in the 1960’s, many of the families there had transitioned into retirement. As the school year drew near, Sternig learned that because her family lived within a mile of the elementary school, she would have to pay $340 a year to have her daughter bused to class. Since driving every day was not economical when gas prices rose to $4/gallon, the circumstances challenged her to look for a greener alternative to using gasoline. Instead of putting her daughter on the bus, she bought a bicycle and a trailer and started biking her daughter to school instead. Not only did Sternig and her daughter enjoy their bike to school, her classmates loved it. The children at school were very interested in her bike and thought it was very cool that Theresa’s daughter traveled to school by bicycle.

 

The transition to Kindergarten had been stressful for Ms. Sternig’s oldest daughter.  Most of her daughter’s friends had been from her day care and she didn’t know any of her new classmates. Theresa realized that biking could be a good way for both of her daughters to socialize with other kids in their neighborhood while also getting some exercise.  She decided to organize an event where all the neighborhood kids could bring

their bikes, ride around together, and make friends. She printed up flyers advertising Lake Nelson’s Bike Night and handed them out to neighborhood parents. When a couple of families showed up for the first bike night last fall, Theresa and her daughters were ecstatic. Bike Night’s success continued throughout September and October as more families began attending and the children and parents started to get to know each other better.

 

The children who regularly attend Lake Nelson Bike Night range in age from 2 to 11. The children and their parents come to Bike Night together, bringing their bicycles and meeting at each other’s homes on a weekly rotation.  The children enjoy riding and playing with one another while their parents enjoy meeting their neighbors. Bike Night also has been a great way for the children to improve their biking skills and physical abilities. With their parents’ guidance, the children are learning that safe bicycling is important and that a helmet must be worn every time they ride.

 

While Lake Nelson Bike Night is open to all neighborhood children, the majority are under five years old and therefore too young to ride alone or bike themselves to school. As they get older, Ms. Sternig hopes the children’s enjoyment of biking will continue to grow. Ultimately, she would like to see groups of kids from