Photo by Ben Guenther, Village of Yellow Springs
Road rave
- Published: June 9, 2025
Young bikers take to the road: Last week brought the community’s youngest Bulldogs out in droves on foot and on wheels as the annual Walk and Bike to School Day event was held Wednesday, May 14, at Mills Lawn, followed Friday, May 16, by the annual third and fourth grade Dan Carrigan Memorial Bike Hike.
Walk and Bike to School Day was sponsored by the YS Active Transportation Committee. The day ended in a post-school celebration, featuring treats, games, giveaways and raffle prizes for students. On-hand for the event were representatives of Dayton Children’s Hospital, Black Pug Bike Repair, Miami Township Fire-Rescue and the YS Police Department, who provided helmet fit checks, bike checks and simple tune-ups and safety information.
Friday’s Dan Carrigan Memorial Bike Hike saw third graders practicing safe riding on Jacoby Road, while fourth graders rode north through town to Ellis Pond via the connector path. Third graders are pictured above with local resident and volunteer Gary Zaremsky.
Last week’s events were part of year-long instruction and programming led by Mills Lawn physical education teacher Emily Berlo. Kindergarteners and first graders learned to balance, pedal and wear helmets correctly before advancing to riding on varied terrains and following basic traffic signs. Local resident Kate Anderson Carrigan helped students fit helmets and start strong.
All 37 members of this year’s sixth grade class rode successfully to and from Great Council State Park this year after completing eight hours of dedicated bicycle safety instruction. The event served as a prelude to the annual three-day “Into the Wild” biking and camping event for McKinney Middle School’s seventh graders.
As part of this year’s curriculum, Mills Lawn also welcomed a guest speaker from Dayton Children’s Hospital, who spoke to grades K–6 about the importance of helmet safety.
Berlo also instituted the popular fall and spring “Bike Bus” initiative, in which local Mills Lawn students and their families meet up and bike to school en masse on Wednesdays when the weather is suitable. She invites all local bike enthusiasts to join in by volunteering for both the Bike Bus and in-school biking experiences next school year.
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