To get to school normally my dad gives me and my siblings a ride, Now my dad is in the hospital and i dont want to take the Bus. I considered commuting to school, but i noticed there was no place to lock my bike up, and no where to keep it at all.

I approached my principal about the issue, and she told me that I couldent becuase If I did it everyone else would want to do it. (wtf?) She told me that The school is liable for me on my way to and from school, and They couldent allow me to ride.

I dont live very far from school, about 23 miles and i would enjoy a early morning ride. It dosent make sense to me, and sounds like total B.S. What do you guys think?

BTW this is my first post in these forums.

WTF? is the right thing for you to be saying. The principal is no more responsible for you when you are biking as he/she is when your dad is driving you. If you took the bus, I can see how that might be different.

23 miles is a long way (unless you meant 2.3 or something like that). Have you ridden that far before? Have you tested out the route?

There's gotta be some place for you to lock up your bike if you're creative. Is there a lightpost in the parking lot? If so, perfect!

You can tell your principal that she is full of $H!^. Tell her BikerTeen said so. Well, maybe that's not such a good idea. But seriously, if you would like one of us advocacy-types to email her, give us her address. I'd have no problem using my full name, address, credentials, and whatever else she wants when corresponding with her.

Bottom line: You're a brave kid for even considering riding to school. Most would be too afraid of "peer pressure," although I think you'll find that it brings positive interest and curiousness your way.

Ride if you want despite what your principal says. If she tries to get you in trouble (I doubt she will), send in the BikeForums troops ASAP! There may even be someone here who lives near you who could help your cause.

Good luck. Let me know if you need more advice or encouragement.

Who knows what legal reasons they have or fear. Do they let other students drive? What about walking?
At least you do have the bus as an option - and riding it does not contribute to more pollution as it goes anyway with a seat for you.
You must be well prepped for a 46mi daily ride. Thats great.
Al

Unless putting rack out could be interpreted as encouraging riding a bike - that implict is that the school is encouraging and supporting bike riding.
Perhaps it one if those things where they say no, but if you do it they wont stop you.
But it has a ring of BS to it too.
Al

That's absolutely rediculous. Have one of your parents (your Mom, I'd guess) call the principal and explain that she is supportive of you riding, and that all you need is a good place to lock your bike for the day. If the Principal gives her any guff, then go above the principal's head and call the school district and ask to talk to somebody who can help. My kids are in GRADE school and they have places to park their bikes, and they use it whenever possible, especially in the summer when its nice out and riding is more enjoyable for them.

All that being said, just find a chain link fence or a light post as somebody suggested, and start riding and lock agains the post or the fence. I can't see it being that big of a deal. If they give you a bad time, talk to some local reporters. Let them know that your school is hassling you because you ride to school instead of walk or bus.

Your 14 years old and your school is 23 miles away? I thought bussing to integrate was done with but I guess not! Is it a private school or public?

Allowing a 14 year old to ride 23 miles, mostly in the dark, in rush hour traffic would not be the most responsible thing to do. Sorry, bassplayinbiker, but if you were my kid, you'd be known as bassplayinbusrider. No sense having two family members in the hospital.

If this is actually a 2.3 or a 2-3 mile commute then I would consider it depending on the route, neighborhood, traffic, maturity level, etc.

Alternative answer to your principal if she does not let your bike to school: You can pick me up in your car in the morning and take me home in the afternoon . . .

there is always a tree, fence or light post. I have even chained up to pillars holding up buildings. Get a cable from the hardware store that is long enough to go around whatever is not movable near your school. that, and da** the torpedos!

If you can't park at school, you can always unobtrusively park it a block or two away. As a bonus, it will be less susceptible to vandalism too.

PS is it really 23 miles?!?

The school district my daughter attends prohibits all bikes, scooters, skateboards, mopeds, or anything that can't be registered as a vehicle on their property. Nor are kids up to 5th grade allowed to walk to school alone. But all the schools in her district are nowhere near neighborhoods and there are no sidewalks to connect the communities to the schools. They built all the schools here in rural areas outside of town. It is done as a safety issue and probably as a liability issue. (student accident on school property etc.)

However the school can do nothing if the student here wishes to park his bike off school property I would think. I also figure since his siblings are probably taking the bus, so should this student unless the ride is 2.3 miles, not 23 miles one way. I used to ride my bike a lot to all my schools including elementary but that was in the 70s and early 80s.

If you're bold and/or just want to start trouble (I'm in no way saying you should, just throwing this out there), lock it to what ever you can near the office and then tell all your friends to ride their bikes and do the same. Make it seen and maybe school policy will change.

I think there is some kind of legal responsibilites for students leaving schools, your prinicipal might be telling you the truth. It could very well be the whole trip between home and school, or until you are with a parent.

Then why do they let 16 year old kids DRIVE home with all their friends in the car?

I don't know. I think they might still be liable, but America is a car culture, so driving is just accepted. And besides... how would a 16 year old get home from school if they couldn't drive? duh..

Because the 16 year old kid has auto insurance.

Wow! That is sad to hear but not extremely surprising in these days (car culture). I believe this educator needs to be educated about cycling. Perhaps if you would contact a local cycling advocacy group like the Kansas City Bicycle Club they could contact the school on your behalf. Maybe they could assist with setting up some classes or a presentation on safe cycling. Just a thought. I am like everyone else here... 23 miles? Are you sure? That is really far to go to school. I ride 10 miles to work and it takes me 45-50min... and I ran a marathon in 2000 so I am in really good shape. I get up at 6:30am to get to work at 9:00 (prep time included). I leave at 8 am. I am in St. Louis and suspect that your area probably is somewhat similar for terrain. Hope things work out...

Peace, Love, Cycling!

kb0tnv

I rode 2-3 miles to school in elementary school, when I was 8 years old (through 5th grade, when I was 10, and never had a problem). I think you're underestimating the abilities of a 14 year old.

ditto

Let's start an e-mail campaign. Can you give us the e-mail addresses to the school superintendant, the principal & as many other scoll officials as you can find. I say that all of us who are in favor of the school changing this stupid policy to allow kids to ride & park their bikes at school should start sending e-mails to everyone we can. So get us the e-mail address & I'll be one of the first to start e-mailing on your behalf.

Well...

When a buisness I am visiting does not have somewhere to lock up the bike, I just tootle on down the road until I can find some place to lock it up.

Why not just do the same? Find a nice place a little ways off of the campus and lock up our bike. Just walk from there.

i think the kid is talking about 23 miles here...at least his post says 23 miles and i dont see any other posts of him correcting the "mistake". what time does school start for a 14 yr old (on average)? would you guys say 8 is an accurate time? how long do you think its going to take him to ride that 23 miles? i can go about 5 miles every 30 minutes, with traffic lights and stop signs and all that stuff factored in. so a 23 mile ride would take me about 2 hours, but i will say this guy is a lot faster then me and doesnt have to stop at a traffic light at every corner and it takes him 1.5 hours. lets say it takes him a hour to get up, change, eat breakfast, etc etc etc etc. so thats a total of 2.5 hours. if he started at 8 and wanted to arriv, lets say 30 minutes early, so he could find a place to park bike, unpack stuff, and have time to dry off, put deodorant on and stuff so hes not walking to class stinky.. he would have to leave the house by 5am. o_O not to contridict my other post in the safety forum or anything, but thats just insane for a 14 year old. also, we dont even know if he knows how to ride in traffic or has even rode his bike for that length. it would give him good excerise, save gas, etc etc etc, but think about it here guys...

that's why people are saying if it actually is 23 miles that it's not a good idea. however, i find it hard to believe that someone lives 23 miles from their school.

i live about 30 miles away from my school..... but i go to college

23 miles is not far if you live in a rural area. some kids bus 90 miles. Bassplayinbiker, if you are contemplating a 23 mile each way commute, you should go do it once on the weekend, to get a feel for how much you like it and how realistic it is for you to do it. I think locking your bike up (and your misguided principal) is the least of your worries. The ride is. Go do it. Do you have a helmet and lights?

riding a bus for 90 miles is completely different then riding a bike for 23 miles.

also! i forgot to mention, for a 23 mile ride, you should learn how to change a flat too. what kind of bike do you have? if you have a department store bike, it might last for the first 3 or 4 round trips (or if you're lucky, it'll last you forever), so you'll need a good bike too cuz you dont want it breaking down on you. plus the books.. do you carry a lot of books? depending on the geometry of your bike and your carry load, if you keep it up, it might lead to back problems later on...