Southwest and Haskins third and fourth grade students had a chance to enjoy riding their bikes as part of the 2004 Bicycle Fitness course sponsored by the Pratt Health Foundation. This program was started in 1996 with a Kansas Health Foundation grant and the program has been offered ever since.

“This program teaches “the rules of the road,” how to use hand signals, safe riding habits, the benefits of physical activity and how to use a bicycle helmet,” Pratt Health Foundation Executive Director DeWayne Bryan said.

Students at Haskins and Southwest go on a bicycle ride for about 30 minutes for two days a week with Bryan. Southwest rides on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Haskins on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sacred Heart and Skyline students are also invited along on the bike rides as well.

After the initial lessons are taught, the students go on a specially designed three-mile ride through Pratt. Each route has a “killer hill’ to challenge the muscular development of the students. The bicyclers are followed by the staff of the Pratt County Health Department in case of emergency or mechanical breakdown. Community Service Coordinator Peggy Lee and selected helpers, watch the traffic when the group crosses busy intersections.

In all, there were 14 students who participated from Haskins and 16 from Southwest. All of the students received a participation certificate. Those with perfect attendance, 21 in all, received an additional certificate for a new bike helmet from the Pratt County Health Department. Helmets are provided by the Foundation and the Pilot Club.

The Foundation concludes the program with a yearly drawing for a new bike. This year, the Southwest bicycle drawing winner is Stanton Sinclair, and the Haskins winner is Hunter Schwartz.

Those students who didn’t miss attending over three times or who didn’t receive more than three tickets could be entered in the drawing for the bike. Tickets were given to students who did not use the proper signals on their bikes and/or didn’t listen to instructions.

Bryan is looking forward to continuing the program for next year.

“Hopefully, this program will decrease the number of head injuries by encouraging the use of helmets, decrease the number of bicycle/car accidents and encourage kids to exercise safely,” Bryan said.

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