More than 150 kids join BYU's Cosmo to bike to school in Orem

OREM — Every Friday morning during the school year, dozens of kids can be seen biking down 200 North in Orem to get to Cascade Elementary School. But today, more than 150 kids were biking, laughing and having a good time with none other than Cosmo the Cougar.

"We get to hang out together on the bike bus," third-grader Jay Goulding said. "Riding my bike gives me strong legs, so whenever I have to run up a hill, it will be easy-peasy."

His father, Zach Goulding, started the Orem bike bus two years ago after being inspired by physical education teacher Sam Balto, who started Bike Bus World in Portland, Oregon. As a mental health therapist who sees the benefits of moving your body and being outside, Goulding knew a bike bus could be a great asset to the community.

"Both me and my wife were like, 'This is amazing.' We would love to do something like this in our neighborhood to get more kids moving because we know the benefits of movement, and it would be really cool to celebrate that," Goulding said.

The bike bus is a designated route through a neighborhood where kids can join at any point on their way to school, so they don't have to bike alone. Bike Bus World has grown into a national movement, with bike buses popping up across the country.

Through the power of social media, Balto has gotten celebrities such as Benson Boone and Justin Timberlake to join bike buses and encourage children to be active.

When Balto reached out to Goulding about joining a bike bus, Goulding said the kids only wanted one celebrity: Cosmo the Cougar. And sure enough, Cosmo was eager to join.

So Friday morning, the students' dreams came true as they got to bike to school with their favorite mascot. Some of them even got their helmets signed by the big cat.

"We're so excited. The kids are so pumped," Goulding told KSL before the bike bus. "As a kid, you look up to these mascots, and it normalizes riding your bike. It's a cool thing to say they rode their bike with Cosmo and the energy, we're really excited to feel that."

What started as less than a dozen kids has grown to an average of 50 kids biking together on Friday mornings with the Gouldings. The route has been switched up a few times to incorporate additional neighborhoods so more kids can join.

"They love it. All week long, they are saying 'See you Friday!'" said Stacy Goulding, Goulding's wife and fellow bike bus volunteer.

Zach Goulding said Principal Darrin Johnson and teachers started joining the bike bus, and it just kept growing as kids enjoyed participating. While the official bike bus only occurs on Friday mornings, Goulding said he sees little groups of kids biking together on other mornings as well.

The bike bus has brought a sense of community as parents and kids get outside each morning and move their bodies and spend time with one another, he added.

"It's such a funny thing because it's kids riding their bikes, like what a novel concept," Goulding joked. "But we don't see that as much nowadays because of unsafe streets, unsafe infrastructure, a lot parents reluctant of letting their kids ride on their own."

As part of the bike bus, Goulding has been dutifully educating elementary school students on bike safety.

"So many parents told us my kid wanted to learn how to ride a bike so they could join the bike bus," Goulding said. "We try to teach as much bike safety as we can, but the safest thing for a bike rider is more bike riders."

The last stop on the bike bus route is in a cul-de-sac where Goulding goes over bike safety and the kids get to do a cheer, listen to music and have a treat as they hang out together. He said there is safety in riding together as it helps kids gain confidence and learn the rules of the road.

"Then we all just roll into the school together, and it's a really cool scene," he said.

Goulding said the bike bus has also helped encourage the city to push for infrastructure improvements to make it safer for bikers. Orem Mayor Karen McCandless has even joined some of the rides in the past as she loves biking, and City Council members joined the ride with Cosmo this week.

"She's really supportive of active transportation and she is a regular bike commuter herself. It's cool for our kids to see that — to see a person, specifically a woman in a position of power, biking and choosing to do that. And all the kids are like, 'I bike to school and you bike to work.' It's just a cool connection point,'" he said.

Biking to school is powerful as it reduces traffic and pollution, increases movement in kids, brings benefits to their physical and mental health and fosters independence, Goulding said.

Balto said it was amazing to see how the movement has grown locally in Utah. He said the Cascade Elementary principal thanked him for the joy that has come to the school because of the bike bus and said he has seen positive benefits from it.

Balto has traveled all over the country for bike buses and sees everywhere the impact bike buses have had on communities and children.

"We know that kids when they are physically active before school, do better academically, they get in trouble less, they have better social relationships, and it helps them build their independence," he said.

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