Before most of Durham is up, tree-lined Oval Drive Park is serene, save for a slight morning breeze.
That is, until about 30 kids and their parents begin to arrive on bikes and scooters. Not long after, a school bus pulls in next to the park, letting out more children.
The kids are students at nearby E.K. Powe Elementary School who are participating in Walk and Roll to School Day. It’s part of a week-long celebration promoting sustainable commuting and taking place in over a third of public elementary schools across Durham.
The event includes two groups of kids – one walking and one biking – both of which begin at the park and end at the school.
The bike riders begin arriving at 7:10 a.m., before sunrise. When the school bus pulls up at Oval Drive Park to drop off the walkers, the temperature is in the forties. Some kids file off the school bus wrapped in throw blankets, or in puffer jackets.
Still, energy is high.
As the children file off the bus, they are greeted by Sparky, the Durham Fire Department’s canine mascot. Sparky, waiting in the park’s tennis courts, is swarmed by kids who descend on him. The bikers — their classmates — are mostly unfazed. They peacefully wait for the bike train to begin, most with feet planted on the ground to stay balanced.
After a few chaotic minutes, principal Michael Mattia and E.K. Powe teachers successfully wrangle dozens of children off the bus and into a single file line. They’ll walk the rest of the way to school together, a distance of about .7 miles. Mattia says many have never walked to school before.
“That’s a really cool experience, for them to say, ‘Oh, my legs hurt! I’m not used to walking like this,’” he says.
Curtis Walker, a physical education teacher at E.K. Powe, explains the rules. “You’re gonna stay together. You wanna follow directions from the adults that are leading us on the trip.”
“Let’s have no crashes,” a parent chimes in.
Then, the groups are off.
The walkers and bikers take two different, intersecting routes. The bikers’ route is around a mile long, winding through the quiet, hilly streets of Watts-Hillandale before ending in Old West Durham.
“I just did 10 billion switchbacks!” one child yells to his dad, after conquering a particularly steep hill. Some kids on scooters are defeated by the hills, needing to get off and walk. Nonetheless, at each stop sign, the group becomes whole again.
“Check both sides!” Jacopo Montobbio, education program manager at Bike Durham, asks two kids at the front.
When they give the all-clear, the group accelerates.
“Alright, we’re off,” says Montobbio.
In front of another stop sign, he asks the kids if any have bells. A long-lasting symphony of chimes and dings greets neighbors along West Knox Street.
Later, at the intersection of West Knox and Virgie streets in the Old West Durham neighborhood, a horde of elementary schoolers on bikes and scooters meets the group on foot. Both erupt in shrieks and laughter.
Finally, after about a mile of biking, the kids arrive at school. But the excitement doesn’t end once the kids begin their school day.
In fact, Mattia deliberately schedules the event on a Friday to account for the students’ higher energy levels.
“They’ll talk about how much fun they had, and why they’re excited,” he says. “This way, they have the weekend to settle down, and then we’re right back to learning and regular school on Monday.”
Yaseen Abdul-Malik, an E.K. Powe fourth-grade teacher who leads a group of walking students this morning, agrees.
“We ride the high for the rest of the day. We’re gonna walk to school, we’re gonna then share some of the things we saw with some of the other kids that did not go.”
Abdul-Malik, who goes by “Mr. Y,” thinks events like this also de-stigmatize different methods of getting to school.
“Riding the bus, when I was growing up, was a faux pas, like, ‘Yo daddy ain’t got no car,’” says Abdul-Malik, who grew up attending Durham Public Schools in the early ‘90s.
“We’ve come a long way in terms of the narratives that we’re teaching our kids, and the communities that we’re building.”
Bike education and bike rides to school take place year-round at E.K. Powe, even when there isn’t a scheduled school-wide event.
Walker, the Powe physical education teacher, is also certified by Bike Durham to teach his students how to bike safely during the school year. He says events like this help his students become more confident cyclists. “As my students become fifth-graders, there are a lot more of them that are independent riders,” Walker says.
David Bradway, an E.K. Powe parent and researcher at Duke’s Biomedical Engineering Department, helps organize weekly bike rides from Oval Drive Park to school. Rain or shine, he takes his daughter to school on his bike, and encourages other families to join him.
“I’m usually on two wheels,” he says.
Above: The E.K. Powe Bike Train heads toward school. Photos by Abigail Bromberger — The 9th Street Journal
