‘Biking brings me joy’: Students, teachers, parents enjoy the vibe during bike buses for National Walk & Roll to School Day

Remember the joy of biking as a kid? That youthful vibe came washing over me on Oct. 8 while pedaling with Hammerschmidt Elementary School’s bike bus in Lombard for National Walk & Roll to School Day.

Fond memories of biking as a kid ― fun with friends, freedom to explore, dreams of adventures ― kicked in for me while riding with 40-plus eager, bright-eyed kids on a sunny, albeit chilly, morning behind a bike trailer playing tunes. Biking still generates that joy.

Fourth grade teacher Mike Rosen echoed that feeling.

“Biking brings me joy, a joy that’s never gone away,” he said about why he launched Hammerschmidt’s bike bus last fall with Principal Dave Danielski. “Now what makes me happiest is a dad’s feedback whose daughter didn’t like bikes before. Now she does.”

Over 40 kids, a couple on training wheels, and about 15 adults, a couple on foot, lined up at Lombard’s Madison Meadows Park, the starting point for their regular bike bus, an organized mass of kids and adults pedaling to school on a set route for safety and fun.

As 8:15 a.m. approached, Principal Danielski, with portable microphone, reminded riders about “being safe, leaving space and not making it a race,” to paraphrase his commonsense advice.

Police on mountain bikes and inside four-wheelers escorted our rolling parade. Teachers cheered as finishers reached the playground, everyone belting out the final bike bus tune before heading indoors.

The six bike buses last fall and spring have built a following.

“Parents had already started asking about when the bike bus was starting,” Rosen said.

‘The bike bus is coming!’

Amy Stansbury heard that chant as the group rolled toward Pierce Downer Elementary in Downers Grove. With music, soap bubbles and school mascot Pierce the Panther along for every ride, the morning commute felt more like a celebration, according to Stansbury.

She and fellow resident Danielle Jin have already led four bike buses, starting with an Earth Day celebration last April. That event drew over 200 participants, including bicyclists and a “Sidewalk Squad” of walkers, runners and scooter riders.

Their typical bike bus includes 35-40 kids and 10-12 adults. Leaving Chicago and Forest avenues at 7:40 a.m., they travel 1.5 miles along residential streets and a short park path, arriving at school about 20 minutes later. Intermediate stops allow riders to catch up and others to join.

“The Downers Grove Bicycle Club has been a huge support,” she said.

Members train organizers in group riding and street awareness, then volunteer on rides to lead, sweep and cork intersections. They also teach kids basic bike safety checks.

“The bike bus brings neighbors together, gets kids moving and helps reduce school drop-off traffic,” Stansbury noted. “Students start their day with friends and arrive energized for the school day ahead.”

Two in Glen Ellyn

In fall 2024, resident Emily Henkels launched Bike Glen Ellyn’s monthly community rides, noting the “real benefit of face-to-face interactions, playing with other kids outside” for students’ overall development versus isolating indoors on computers and social media. These April-October rides, still going strong, originate in different Glen Ellyn locations, and include 40-50 youth and adult riders.

In May 2025, Henkels initiated the first Bike to School Day at Park View Elementary, hoping to introduce school families to bike buses for school commuting.

Her school’s first bike bus rolled this fall. Henkels learned valuable lessons from two years of Bike Glen Ellyn monthly rides.

“Having gotten so much practice riding with an unwieldy group of children, it helped out a lot with the bike bus,” she said.

Henkels was successful recruiting parents for the bike bus. Park View PTC President Anna Mayo is one of them. The 1.5-mile route originates from her cul-de-sac at 8:20 a.m. for the 20-minute ride. A good turnout is 25-30 students, according to Henkels. Bike buses run on Wednesdays through October, weather permitting, and then restart in April/May.

About 50 student riders and 20-25 adults, including Principal Amber Nickel, participated in the Walk & Roll to School Day bike bus on Oct. 7 that was supported by the PTC.

Fellow Glen Ellyn resident Elle Ellerbee served as a Bike Glen Ellyn leader with Henkels. She started a bike bus this fall at Abraham Lincoln Elementary School, where she and her first grader had already created a ride-to-school route.

For that bike bus, her playlist signals the 8:05 a.m. start to neighbor families of the mile route from her block to school on Tuesdays.

“We do bike on the street, except for one stretch on a hill where the riders move to the sidewalk,” rather than slowing down and stopping in the street, she explained.

Other riders hop on the bike bus along the way. The published map displays the group’s ETA at different points.

“We’ve had up to 15 kids and five adults, though it’s usually around 10 with two or three adults,” Ellerbee said.

While not involved, Ellerbee said, the police department knows about the Tuesday schedule.

As the weather gets chilly, Ellerbee anticipates fewer riders, but she and her son still expect to bike every day.

Ellerbee and Stansbury took online training offered by Chicagoan Rebecca Resman, whose organization, Chicago Family Biking, teaches how to start and conduct a bike bus. Blair Robinson’s Woodbridge bike bus at Meadowview Elementary has served as inspiration and advice for bike bus organizers, including Jin in Downers Grove and Jennifer Prince in Mokena. His bike bus, launched in May 2024, was featured in an August Daily Herald story.

• Contact Ralph Banasiak at alongfortheridemail@gmail.com.