City Schools Celebrate National Bike & Roll to School Day
Groups biked to three of the city's public schools.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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Fredericksburg families celebrated National Bike & Roll to School Day last week, with groups biking to Hugh Mercer and Gladys West elementary schools, and to Walker-Grant Middle School on Friday, May 8.
National Bike & Roll to School Day is an offshoot of national Walk & Roll to School Day. Both events are programs of the National Center for Safe Routes to School, with funding support from the University of North Carolina’s Highway Safety Research Center and Child Health Initiative.
National Walk & Roll to School Day has been celebrated annually in October since the first event in Chicago in 1997 and continues to grow. Across the U.S., there were 3,493 official Walk to School events in 2025, up from 1,255 in 2020.
The success of this event led to the creation of a bike-focused event. The first Bike & Roll to School Day was held in 2012 in May, which is the League of American Bicyclists’ National Bike Month.
Last year, across the country, there were 2,482 bike to school events, up from 1,218 in 2021. In Virginia, students from 183 schools officially participated in Bike & Roll to School events in 2025.
“Fredericksburg really showed up for Bike to School Day this year,” said City Council member and Hugh Mercer Bike Bus parent Will Mackintosh. “It’s a testament to our community and its commitment to healthy kids and environmental responsibility. It’s also a reminder of how much work we have to do to build safe bike infrastructure for all kids and all grownups in our city.”
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