Eugene Field Elementary School is an at-risk school on the west side of the Arkansas
River in Tulsa. (This is the same Arkansas River that starts as a trickle on the slopes of
Mt. Elbert in Colorado.) Two 3rd grade teachers at Eugene Field also are bicyclers who
ride their bikes to work: Gary Parker and Sue Wright.
Gary, Sue and Dick have established Bicycling @Eugene Field. Students apply for and are
accepted into the program based on a desire to participate and recommendation by their
homeroom teacher. Dick provides scholarship bikes for all riders who need them. The
students are taught proper bicycle riding protocol: Riding in pairs, riding single file on
the trail, street bicycling rules, how to judge speed and distance, and general control of
a bicycle in a wide range of conditions. And they are fitted with shiny new helmets. The
students and adult volunteers ride from school to the River Parks Trail system which
extends many miles along both sides of the Arkansas River. There are six progressively
harder rides, starting at about five miles and ending at more than 15 miles. If the
students complete four of the six rides, they get to keep their scholarship bikes and
their new helmets. But more important, perhaps for the first time in their lives, they
accomplish something significant and are praised for it. Gary and Sue, as well as other
teachers, note that some students' whole demeanor changes after they complete their ride
and become a member of Bicycling at Eugene Field. There are spring and fall rides, and the
ride this spring was the best yet. DBanks@scaitul.com
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