As Saturday, September 27 dawned bright and crisp, temperatures hovering near 50 degrees, my granddaughter Brooke and I found ourselves heading north from Lubbock toward Palo Duro Canyon State Park. This is undoubtedly one of the most striking of all the state parks in Texas, a rare beauty on the flat plains of the northern panhandle, with stunning vistas and stark contrasts to the surrounding country. But we aren't going just to see the grandeur of the Grand Canyon of Texas; we are going to participate in the future of bicycling in Texas - the BikeTexas Kids Kup mountain bike race, one race of the Shimano Youth Series mountain bike races, sponsored by BikeTexas, Shimano and Cliff Bars.
This year was a spinning success for the Texas SuperCyclist Certification Training. We trained 341 Physical Education teachers and community youth workers, as well as faculty at two colleges. Since 1999, we have now trained almost 3,000 Elementary P.E. teachers, and from them 288,000 Texas children a year learn bike safety through the Texas SuperCyclist Curriculum lessons.
Through the Texas SuperCollege Certification Training, we have trained faculty at 19 colleges, and they have reported teaching the course to approximately 2200 college students studying to be future teachers. All of these teachers are equipped with the award-winning Texas SuperCyclist Curriculum. During the class the teachers themselves participate in the games and skills course - it makes the class more fun, and the teachers feel prepared to teach the games to their students.
Waco Provides Great Cycling Backdrop for TAHPERD's 2008 Summer Conference
Thursday, 28 August 2008
It was a short two-hour trip up IH-35 for BikeTexas staff to the Texas Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (TAHPERD) Summer 2008 Convention. About 500 P.E. teachers and school administrators gathered at the Hilton Hotel in downtown Waco July 20-22. They toured the TAHPERD Expo in between seminars and many visited the BikeTexas booth, staffed by Teacher Training Director Brenda Chuleewah and staff member Mark Stine.
July - A Hot Month for Texas SuperCyclist Teacher Trainings!
BikeTexas field instructors and staff conducted three trainings in the month of July: Round Rock, Dallas and Killeen.
When it is 105 degrees outside, and a major component of the training involves running and darting activities, an air conditioned gym is a welcomed place to enjoy the activities! Fortunately, and not the case in all Texas schools, all our hosting schools had well air conditioned gyms!
August - Donna Hosts Last SuperCyclist Training in FY08
With a little help from hurricane Dolly to ease the summer drought, the fields and trees of the Rio Grande Valley were lush and green again as BikeTexas staff traveled to Donna, Texas to conduct the final SuperCyclist training for Fiscal Year 2008.
Thirty-one P.E. teachers and aides, gearing up for the new school year, learned about the 15-unit SuperCyclist curriculum and games that teach bike safety concepts to elementary school children. The three TREK 7.2 Hybrids we brought for the training got great workouts as teachers took to the streets around the school complex, practicing their signals and other bike skills.
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We wish to thank all the teachers, our field instructors and schools for participating, assisting and making our 2008 SuperCyclist summer trainings a success.
