Springville Herald | 1953-08-27 | Page 4 | Bikes Rise to New Popularity for Back to School Transport

Bikes Rise To New Popularity For Back To School Transport More young Americans will use bicycles to get to and from school and college classes this fall than at any other time in the 76 year old history of the two-wheeler. This is the prediction of the Bicycle Institute of America, following fol-lowing a nationwide survey of school and police authorities and bike dealers. More than 85 percent of the 21,-000,000 21,-000,000 cyclists in the country are in the school and college age bracket. The sturdy, safe and economical balloon-tired bike has always been number one on the transportation lists for school younsters in rural and suburban areas. Long rows of bikes in racks outside school buildings are typical scenes in these sections. Heavy movements of population from the city to the "country" have added millions to the vast army of school going bike riders. These youngsters resort to the two-wheeler two-wheeler as dependable school transportation trans-portation because in most cases, sufficient and efficient bus service is not available in mushrooming housing areas. Transplanted city parents who deplored the use of bikes by their children on crowded metropolitan streets are encouraging youngsters to bike to school because of safer traffic in suburbs. Cycling, always popular at colleges col-leges and especially so at famous schools such as Yale, Vassar, Smith and Mt. Holyoke, is rapidly becoming becom-ing a campus sport as well as a convenience. The new-type American Amer-ican lightweight bike with three speed gearshift and caliper hand brakes is a favorite model. Contributing to greater use of the bike in college are the expansion expan-sion in the size of campuses and growing restrictions on the use of automobiles by college students.