Bikes in PE

For the past 7 years I have organised a school trip to Siem Reap, where students in Grade 4
and 5 are given the opportunity to participate in the Angkor Wat 3km Fun Run and the Angkor Wat Bike Race. While this trip has proven to be very popular, student numbers have doubled since the first trip I organised, at the back of my mind has been the thought that were we restricting the number of students who benefitted from going on the trip, by the fact that we only took students who had a bike and could ride. In August 2017 I bought three bikes for school and organised after school bike riding lessons for interested students. This proved to be a popular activity, and so we brought a few more bikes and then some more. We now have 25 bike for Elementary students to use.

While we do not have a dedicated cycling unit in the PE curriculum,

students have a range of opportunities to use the bikes. During our

Individual Pursuits athletics units, many students chose bike riding

as a way to develop their cardiovascular endurance, while some

students set themselves the goal of learning to ride a bike during

the lessons. Just over 25 students have learnt to cycle during the

Friday Fitness morning sessions.The bikes are available for students

everyday to use on the field and many have come out at morning

recess and lunch times to learn, often being taught by their friends.

The bikes were taken on the Grade 4 overnight trip, where students

enjoyed cycling on the dirt tracks and through the rice fields at

Ang Ta Som, while on the Grade 2 and 3 Camp Out on the school field,

students enjoyed cycling in their pyjamas!

When I surveyed the students in Grade 2 to Grade 5, I found that in some of the classes
almost two thirds of them could not ride a bike at the start of this school year (August 2018).
We are now at the stage (May 2019), that while not everyone has chosen to learn to ride,
89% of students in Grades 2 to Grade 5 can now ride.

As the students have become more proficient at cycling, I have designed a small bike
track at the back of the field with jumps, ramps, tabletops and berms. This has become
a popular activity and some students have taken the skills learnt here and used them in
Cambodian Mountain Bike Series races. Hopefully a few more students will be able to
join us on future Angkor Wat Trips as well.