Adirondack Sports June 2024

BICYCLING
Bikes in
Schools
Shredders Launch New Program
By Josh Clevenstine
The mental health crisis that is rising in our society,
especially when it comes to smart phone
addiction, is a scourge. Middle school was hard
enough mentally and socially when I was a kid without
having social media and smart phones. The difficulties
of the early teen years are exponentially turned up to an
unhealthy degree thanks to the constant connection of
smart phones, social media and the overall net-negative
these things bring. All that said, it is one thing to point the
finger at a problem, but it is quite another thing to step up
and be a part of the solution. Well, it is time to give some
serious credit where credit is due – thanks to Saratoga
Shredders, the Saratoga Springs City School District, and
some very generous donors, the world of cycling is being
brought to students as a deliberate step towards improving
mental and physical health, promoting healthy social
activities, community and purpose, and bringing equity
in this cost-prohibitive sport to ALL kids at SSCSD.
“We are thrilled to partner with Saratoga Springs City
School District to bring this exciting program to life,” said
Anna Laloë, Executive Director of Saratoga Shredders,
“Our goal is not only to teach kids how to ride but also
install a passion for the outdoors and physical fitness that
will last a lifetime.”
The goal of the “Bikes in Schools” program is to introduce
cycling as part of the Physical Education curriculum
in all the SSCSD schools from kindergarten through
12th grade. The first phase has been successful this year
in getting bikes in the six elementary school buildings.
▲▲ SARATOGA SHREDDERS COACH DIRECTOR SHERAY TARIO
LEADS THE SARATOGA SPRINGS MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL
PHYS ED TEACHERS IN A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT DAY
FOR THE NEW BIKES IN SCHOOLS PE CURRICULUM.
▲ SARATOGA SPRINGS MS/HS PE DEPT HEAD KELSEY ALLEN
HELPS BUILD ONE OF THE 30 BIKES DONATED BY SARATOGA
SHREDDERS TO THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS IN APRIL.
The next step will be getting bikes into Maple Avenue
Middle School by fall of this year, followed by Saratoga
High School in 2025.
For the elementary program, many generous donations
came pouring in from all over the Saratoga region
to raise $58,000 to cover not only the cost of bikes, but
the helmets, curriculum development, teacher training
and maintenance skills to keep up the fleet of 144 balance
bikes and 30 pedal bikes. The pedal bike fleet will
rotate between the six elementary schools. The Saratoga
Springs City School District’s recent Athletic Director,
Nick McPartland, was enthusiastic on seeing this idea
come to life, and offered the district’s full support, as does
the current SSCSD Athletic Director, John Goodson.
Saratoga Shredders has some *excellent* coaches in
its organization. When I found out who Shredders had
assigned to help this project come to life, who was going to
be the ‘boots on the ground,’ and who was going to teach
teachers how to teach “cycling culture,” I grinned when I
found out the answer.
JUNE 2024 45
Sheray Tario is a friend of mine. I’m hard pressed to
think of someone more suited to the task of bringing all
the positives that come from cycling culture to an entire
school district than Sheray. She’s a teacher, Shredders
Coach Director, ridiculously talented mountain biker, and
a great person. If you’ve met her, then you know that there
isn’t a room, trail head or space that doesn’t grin when she
walks in, as she immediately lifts up those around her and
has them chuckling, riding more confidently and smiling.
It was Sheray’s job to teach and inspire the SSCSD teachers
to get kids on bikes in their classrooms. Seasoned PE
teachers were put through the same skills-refining drills
on the bike that the Saratoga Shredders do with their own
coaches and participants. The PE teachers took to it quickly,
and embraced the idea that biking is a lifestyle - one
worth showing their students!
In talking with Sheray and Anna about this K-12 Bikes
in Schools PE Program, both pointed out that it, as far as
anyone knows, is the first of its kind to ever exist in the US.
Sheray said that there were three main things that had to
happen. First was getting folks, groups and organizations
to donate the money to get the program off the ground.
This first and critical goal was met so quickly it’s a testament
to the region’s agreement that biking in schools is a
positive worth pursuing. The second large hurdle would
be a Physical Education Staff within the district that was
willing to take on a new challenge and embrace a new
curriculum. Sheray said that all the PE teachers were on
board with the plan, particularly Mitch Schneider at Maple
Avenue Middle School. The third crucial element in bringing
“Bikes in Schools” to life was a school district willing
to take on the project and step out of their comfort zone,
and the Saratoga Springs City School District answered the
bell. These were three large hurdles, and all the folks listed
above helped them be cleared and cleared well.
Recently Sheray stepped into one of the gym classes at
an elementary school and was struck with “one of those
moments” when she saw all the kids rolling around on
bikes doing their drills with smiles on their faces. Sheray
had a tough time pinpointing the feeling she experienced
in that moment. Between sentences, even her silence
exuded emotional, honest pride and joy. There before her
eyes were the results of a group of parents who took their
kids for some group rides back during 2020 to get outside
when things were dark and uncertain. That group became
Saratoga Shredders. In four years, Saratoga Shredders has
massively boosted the local cycling community in countless
ways. If you ride bikes in the Saratoga region, you can’t
help but see the fruits of their labor, and now we are seeing
bikes formally introduced as a part of a school district’s
curriculum so that ALL kids have the opportunity to access
this historically cost-prohibitive sport of mountain biking.
Hopefully, we will see an improvement in the mental
health crisis and more kids riding bikes together having
fun instead of sitting isolated scrolling their phones.
Saratoga Shredders is currently in the middle of a
spring fundraising campaign for their Bikes in Schools
program, aiming to raise $15,000. If you are able, please
donate here: saratogashredders.com/bikes-in-schools.
Josh Clevenstine released his second full-length album,
By My Fire Again: An Adirondack Album in May. It’s
available streaming on all major platforms or for sale
at all of his gigs. For schedule: joshclevenstine.com.