Fourth grader Seth Magnusson packs his bag for the last Friday of the school year at Edmond’s Will Rogers Elementary. He rattles off a checklist, ensuring he has everything he needs for his volcano project and that his dad didn’t forget to put Cheetos in his lunch box.
But instead of climbing the stairs of a bus or hopping into a car, Seth heads outside to strap on a pair of bike gloves and click on his helmet. That’s because today is bike bus day.
Fridays have been bike-bus days for over a month, thanks to Seth’s mom, Michelle Magnusson. She is the president of the school’s parent organization and the city’s mobility commissioner.
She loves biking with her kids and starting the day with a morning ride. Now, about 25-45 kids and a handful of other parents regularly join her and Seth as they make their way to school.
Michelle was inspired by Coach Sam Balto, a P.E. teacher in Portland, Oregon, to spearhead this movement in her community. Balto was also influenced by a bike bus in another community, and he started his first one in spring 2022.
His TikTok videos have reached communities across the nation, featuring footage of his nearly 150-kid-strong bike bus taking over the streets of Portland, with pop music playing in the background. Those videos helped Michelle show parents what a bike bus looks like in practice and convinced them this is something that could be done here in Oklahoma.
Balto said seeing his videos motivate others to bring the idea to their neighborhoods has been humbling.
“I can get emotional sometimes. After a ride, I check the footage, and I'm just like, ‘This is the coolest thing I've ever seen in my life,’ Balto said.
Balto’s group in Oregon benefits from a network of neighborhood greenways, which are low-traffic streets that prioritize people who are walking and biking. He mapped out their bike route on Google Maps, allowing him to account for motorized school bus routes and students’ addresses.
Michelle used Balto’s model to construct three routes, utilizing as many bike paths as possible. They’ve staffed two routes with volunteers so far. Each has a timed schedule to ensure no one gets missed and everyone makes it to school on time.
“It is kind of like a real bus,” Michelle said.
It took about two years of prep work and community engagement to launch the program. Phat Tire Bike Shop taught the kids proper bike maintenance, the Edmond Police Department held a lesson on road safety, and Michelle is working with the city to improve cycling infrastructure.
The kids have always been at the center of the conversation. Seth has advocated for his classmates since the idea’s origin. As a third-grader, he presented the idea to the Edmond Bicycle Committee, saying why he wanted to do this and how it could be valuable to his friends. Michelle said he’s very interested in kids’ rights and autonomy.
“As a parent, I want to feed that energy, because we need people in our communities that want to change things,” Michelle said.
A byproduct of the bike bus is lasting health benefits. Oklahoma State University’s Lance Walker, the Rick and Gail Muncrief executive director of the Human Performance and Nutrition Research, said programs like the bike bus can get kids excited about exercising.
“I think they're going after the fun, right? I mean, that's the number one thing. Ask a kid: ‘What do you do?’ You do things that are fun,” Walker said.
The physical therapist and sports scientist said the time kids spend having fun and riding with their friends contributes to the recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity they should get each day. They’re working their heart, lungs, muscles and improving blood flow.
He said biking before school can also have cognitive benefits.
“You’re combining this neuromuscular thing with this neurocognitive thing, and that is all sorts of Miracle-Gro for the brain,” Walker said. “It's a great benefit upstairs. We know that that's going to benefit them in the short term. When they arrive at school, they're going to learn better, they're going to retain better.”
Beyond exercise, Walker said building this habit can also improve a kid’s independence.
“(It’s) the trust factor that you begin to develop for yourself, the self-efficacy that, ‘I can do this. I can ride my bike to school.’ The independence that you gain from that. ‘I don't have to have mom take me somewhere or dad take me somewhere,’” Walker said.
Hudson Proud, a Will Rogers Elementary second-grader, said the bike bus has helped him improve his soccer game.
“I think it's good to get your legs strong and, for my sport, soccer, so I can get stronger and get better at soccer,” Hudson said.
Seth feels more confident navigating his community, thanks to his bike.
“I get to go wherever I want, whenever I want. It’s awesome,” Seth said. “The neighborhood is my playground.”
Even parents, like Hudson’s mom, Lauryn Proud, feel more comfortable with their kids riding their bikes to school beyond Fridays.
“I’m sure my kids will want to be doing it more than just once a week,” Lauryn said.
Michelle said she’s seen Seth focus better at school and her kids care more about the place they live than they ever could have when they were inside the “metal box of a car.”
“I love that my kids can navigate their community,” Michelle said. “They know what streets we’re on. They know their directions. They meet people that they would have never met before.”
On Friday, after everyone locked up their bikes and said their goodbyes, Michelle reflected on her many dreams for the future. The small ones include matching neon t-shirts, so kids will be “bright and shiny” when they’re on the road.
Bigger dreams involve making the program more equitable for kids who can’t afford bikes and spreading bike buses to communities across her district and the state.
Will Rogers is a Title I school, and she said less-affluent schools like hers sometimes aren’t seen as ideal places to start big, new ideas. But she believes in this idea — and the kids in her community.
“I want them to feel like they're leading something that makes a difference, that catches on somewhere else,” Michelle said.
OSU’s Lance Walker said when adults strike a balance in finding activities that interest kids and that promote healthy lifestyles, they should go all-in.
“We gotta figure out and dump as much gas on those flames that burn, that get people physically active,” Walker said.
