And another reason to go by bike…

The Lakeland Ledger has an article today on the increasing popularity of using bikes for transportation. Several commuters are interviewed, this is my favorite:

Everyone commutes in the Smith household, whether it’s to school or work. Everett Smith began biking the nearly four miles to work at Lockheed Martin in October. He and his daughter, Katie, 11, ride together and Katie peels off at Lakeland Highlands Middle School.

Wanda Smith rides with their son William, 7, to Highlands Grove Elementary, and she began commuting to her job at FITniche at Lakeside Village in early May.

The bike riding served as a way to expend some of William’s energy before the school day started. He previously attended private school and was accused of having attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

After lots of money and testing, only to find that William was “all boy,” Wanda Smith said she began walking, running and riding bikes to school with him to help burn some early-morning energy. Now he’s a straight-A student who doesn’t get in trouble.

Go by bike: save money, lose weight, increase fitness, improve air quality… get better grades!

And a little quality time with the kids, too. Pretty cool.

If you enjoy articles on cycling families, here’s another one from the Boston Globe.