International Mountain Bike Association (IMBA) celebrated the third annual Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day on Saturday Oct. 7 2006. Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day celebrates the life of an avid teenage mountain biker from North Carolina who had a true passion from the sport from an early age but pass away in 2002. The event will take place in the first Saturday in October.

Amarillo's first annual ride was organized by Old Tascosa Cycling Club and co-sponsored by the club Girl Scout Five Star Council, Texas Bicycle Coalition and the International Mountain Biking Association. 

The Old Tascosa Cycling club held their monthly meeting on Monday, September 18, 2006 in the downtown library meeting room. The guest speaker was Amarillo Traffic Engineer Taylor Withrow. The topic of discussion was the city’s future plans for the municipal hike and bike system. 17 concerned citizens were in attendance including City Commissioner Paul Harpole (a cycling club member), Kenneth Graham, (a member of the Parks & Recreation Commission, & OTC Secretary), Fernando Martinez (Texas Bicycle Coalition Local Outreach Coordinator), Joyce Cunningham (Texas Bicycle Coalition Local Outreach Coordinator & OTC Membership Director), Dr. Charles Hennessey (a member of the local running club), Cynthia Jennings (assistant principal at Emerson Elementary School), and Joe Chapman (reporter for the Amarillo Globe-News).

Yes, there are bike lanes in Gene Howe neighborhood and the students want to know how to use them safety. That’s why PE teacher Janet Sheen asked Texas Bicycle Coalition Local Outreach Coordinators Fernando Martinez and Joyce Cunningham to conduct a Bike Safety day for all 543 Gene Howe students. Sheen met the LOCs at a Canyon PE teacher meeting last June where they presented an overview of the BikeTexas Safe Routes to School Program.

The Program highlights were received enthusiastically by kindergarten through 4^th graders. Handle bar traffic hand signals, why you should wear a helmet egg drop, bike parts identification, and how to check your bike before riding were presented.

PE teacher Janet Sheen, and assistant Teresa McCall assisted in the demonstrations. Martinez and Cunningham had their hands full as one class exceeded 100 students. Even Principal Michelle Wilson was seen helping with the overflow of enthusiasm. What a great turnout.

A big "Thank You" is extended to the Gene Howe Elementary school staff and students for their interest in promoting bicycle safety in the Amarillo area.

By Jeff Frazer
Caprock High School, Amarillo
AP Government/ U.S. History

I got into the bicycling projects by accident. Several years ago, the Amarillo Library was having its International Week with the featured country being France. The students got extra credit for each activity that they went to. One activity that year was a bike race in Palo Duro Canyon. I told them (Government students at Caprock High School) that if they found out about the race, we would participate as a group. They followed through with their end, and I have been going to bicycle races ever since.

The Girl Scout’s Thin Mint is growing in popularity. The second annual Thin Mint Challenge was held Sunday, September 10, 2006, at the Girl Scout Camp Kiwanis bicycle trails. “It was a very enjoyable event and no one got hurt!” was the comment by Maria Stickel, Executive Director of the Girl Scout Five Star Council. “It was a beautiful day to enjoy our camp and we're grateful that everything went as well as it did”. This West Texas Championship Series mountain bike race officially had 48 racers and several more joined the Family Fun Ride. Riders came from as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada and Tennessee.