Activ8Kids! Promotional Bike Ride - Hyde Park
From a block away, the Activ8Kids! Team could hear the roaring welcome of the Hyde Park Elementary School student body this crisp fall morning. The Activ8Kids riders were greeted by 272 students who performed the Activ8Kids cheer to military cadence. The physical education teacher, Sue Hawkins, and school nurse, Judy Walsh, were awarded certificates of recognition for their afterschool and breakfast programs to improve the health of 4 th and 5 th graders. Following the bikers' story presentation, the students and staff got everyone up dancing and moving to "Move It." The principal, Kate Blossom, drew a kindergartner's name to win the grand prize bicycle. The school had prepared healthy snacks of Dutchess County apples and cold bottles of water to start the day's ride. Today's program and ride were video-recorded by Amy Hart from the School of Public Health's T2B2 productions for an upcoming program on school wellness policies.
The riders dubbed this ride "Glen's Scavenger Hunt of Dutchess County," as they did a figure eight route through the rolling hills and countryside to the Kingston-Rhinecliff bridge. Our lunch stop was on the grounds of Bard College, a noticeably bike-friendly community. Throughout the day's ride the group noticed increasing signs of fall, such as falling leaves, farm harvesting, brilliant tree colors, and crunching acorns under the bike tires. The changing weather makes tomorrow's biking plans open to revision.
