Saturday, March 22, 2008

Freiker Works to get kids Biking to School

Another great non-profit in Boulder that encourages sustainability is Freiker. Freiker is short for "frequent biker," and the idea is to get kids motivated about riding their bikes to school by providing feedback about how frequently they ride via the Freikometer. According to their website, "The Freikometer counts riders using a radio-frequency identification (RFID). Freikers have RFID tags affixed to their helmets. When they ride to school, they ride past the Freikometer to 'ring in'." the Freikometers are solar powered, and I can attest (since my daughter goes to school at one of the shools with a Freikometer) that the kids LOVE to have their rides recorded. Freiker offers prizes, like an iPod to riders who ride their bikes 160 rides a year (not easy to do). But riding no matter the weather becomes a habit, and it's great habits like these that our kids need, both for their health and for the planet.

You can contact Freiker to make a donation or to see if they can expand to a school near you!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Having a Freikometer at our school has encouraged many kids to ride,when they might otherwise not ride.
I've been riding to school with my kids and it's great to see how much fun they're having.
The Freikometer has an audible 'ring' when the kids check in, and they love that recognition.