Celebrating National Bike to School Day

National Bike To School Day is celebrated in communities across the nation on May 5. It’s an important day that allows students and families to bike together, promotes the importance of daily exercise, and brings attention to safe routes to school programs.

Many of our Mission: Readiness members are avid cyclists and advocates of safe routes to school programs. One such member is Vice Admiral (Ret.) Manson Brown, who is the featured guest on the latest Mission: Readiness podcast.

Vice Admiral Brown competing his cross country ride.

On the podcast, Vice Admiral Brown talks with his former U.S. Coast Guard colleague and Mission: Readiness Membership Director, Jake Ferreira, about his career in service to our nation and the importance of daily physical activity. He also discusses his love of cycling and shares details about the cross country ride he embarked on shortly after completing his service as an Assistant Secretary of Commerce. You can read a firsthand account of Vice Admiral Brown’s remarkable bike ride here.

Decades ago, walking and biking to school, a friend’s house, or to the center of town was the norm. Today, far fewer kids use active modes of transportation. This decline is due to a number of factors, including safety concerns, poor infrastructure, and increasing distances between schools and homes.

Improved walking and biking routes, especially around schools, can help reverse the decline. Furthermore, children who bike to school can gain additional minutes of daily physical activity. These minutes matter as we aim to reduce childhood obesity and improve military eligibility by building healthy families, schools, and communities.

Mission: Readiness Membership Director Jake Ferreira and his son Cruz biking to school

Like Vice Admiral Brown, Mission: Readiness proudly celebrates the importance of daily physical activity and supports investments in safe routes to school programs that promote walking and biking to school through infrastructure improvements, tools, safety education, and other key resources.

To find out how you can participate in National Bike to School Day and learn more about safe routes to school programs, please visit the following websites:

• Walk & Bike to School
• Department of Transportation - Safe Routes to School Programs
• National Center for Safe Routes to School