#WhyIRide: To Drop My Kids off at School
This blog comes from an anonymous bicyclist, parent, and SVBC member. Got a good reason #WhyIRide? Email Jessica at jessica@bikesiliconvalley.org.The alarm goes off. I scramble to find my phone to turn off the alarm, hoping it doesn’t wake up the kids. Sure, they’re going to wake up within 5 minutes anyways, but those few minutes of quiet are precious. I’ve secured my alarm before it got too loud. Success! I have a few minutes. I take the quickest shower on record (45 seconds of cold water), but it’s enough to kickstart my brain for the day. As I head downstairs to prepare the breakfasts, I hear our baby start to cry softly. That means it’s only a short time before everyone is downstairs, on the verge of crankiness. The next 45 minutes are a jumble of breakfasts, getting kids dressed, getting myself ready for work. It all wraps up in a crowded foyer with everyone putting on their shoes and jackets. My excitement builds for the next and most exciting part of the morning routine - the bike ride to drop off my kids at school. We go downstairs to the garage, dawn our helmets. I load the girls on the bike, their backpacks in the pannier, and it’s time to ride. My eyes focus on the road, my legs start pedaling, and the stress of the morning melts away. On the road, my kids are rockstars. We see people in the cars driving by pointing, smiling and waving when they can get our attention. We’re like everyone else on the road - heading to school - except we’re on a bike, feeling the wind rush by us. We bike through a neighborhood with wide streets and only the occasional car - this is my favorite part of the ride. I drink in the morning as we look at the beautiful houses and trees as we pass by.Leaving the neighborhood, we pull off onto the busier street approaching the school. The girls are getting waves from their classmates in cars as well as those walking to school. The joy of the ride is coming to an end, but the convenience benefits of riding my kids to school are just starting to kick in. Riding the bike to drop off kids is like having platinum access at the airport. At stop lights, the lanes are clogged with cars, but we glide right by to the front. The same goes for the line into the school - we just bike right by as the cars jockey for position. I feel a little bad for the parents and kids stuck in the cars - hoping that at least one of them will be inspired to bike their kids to work. The slight guilt subsides quickly and we pull away from the last of the cars. Finally and maybe best of all, there’s no searching for parking. We pull up to the sidewalk closer than any car to our final destination, hop off and we’re on our way.I drop my kids off at their class and give them each a kiss. If we have time, I straighten their hair a little from the helmet. Their tousled hair isn’t a mess - just enough to convey “I’ve been up to something special this morning."I ride my bike to drop my kids off at school.