Bike Commuter Mom Extraordinaire

As a mother of young children, it’s hard to stay active.  Toddler pace isn’t exactly a strenuous workout. Life revolves around nap schedules, school drop-off and pick-up times, extra-curricular activities, work, and meals. Fitting in daily exercise takes time – exactly what mothers lack.

Ellen Aagaard has found a way to get back into shape, and still be time efficient.  A self-identified “bike commuter mom,” Ellen Aagaard started biking with her children to school once she received a bike trailer as a gift.  “It made it possible to get the kids to school on time since we live a mile and a half away.  Now I’m totally committed to the active start to the day!” 

She’s convinced that choosing active transportation to get to school, to the grocery store, to church, to meetings, and to run other errands is the way to stay fit.  “If you can do the active transportation thing, exercise just becomes part of your daily routine.”

Until two years ago, Ellen’s zeal for active transportation focused on her own family. But after attending a Seattle School District workshop which Feet First organized on Safe Routes to School, she came back energized to start her own Safe & Active Routes to School program at Laurelhurst Elementary. 

As a Parent Teacher Association (PTA) board member, Ellen immediately recognized how her PTA could be invested in the idea.  “Safe Routes to School programs hit three major components of PTA goals.  It promotes health and physical activity, issues of safety around the school environment, and is a natural way to foster school community.  That’s fundamentally what PTAs are all about.”  She set to work as a cycling and pedestrian advocate in her children’s elementary school and began organizing parents through her PTA connections.

Ellen’s activism has paid off.  Laurelhurst Elementary has seen a 75% increase in active transportation over the course of this past year.  There are noticeably fewer cars during drop-off and pick-up times, especially during her Walk a Block, Bike to School Month, and International Walk to School Month campaigns.  During the months of September and October of this year, Ellen counted between twenty and thirty-five bikes each day; three times the number of bikes parked last year.

“I hear practically every day, ‘I love what you’re doing!’  I really feel like I’ve made a difference in the community and for me that’s even more rewarding than the statistics.”

Sign up to receive more information about how to start you own Safe Routes to School program

OR: contact Ellen Aagaard directly to learn more about Laurelhurst Elementary School’s Safe and Active Routes to School success at ellaag@yahoo.com