Virginia's First Gentleman Took a Ride with the Hugh Mercer Bike Bus
Adam Spanberger visited Fredericksburg on Friday to see what the Bike Bus is all about.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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On Friday, Adam Spanberger, Virginia’s First Gentleman, joined a group of about 16 students and their parents for the afternoon run of the Hugh Mercer Elementary School Bike Bus.
An avid cyclist, Spanberger said he’s also passionate about using his four years in the Executive Mansion to support initiatives to get kids off screens.
“So I wanted to learn about this fun way to do both those things—get kids on bikes and get them off screens,” Spanberger told the Advance on Friday afternoon.
The state’s first First Gentleman joined a bike bus in Alexandria on Friday morning, and caught up with Hugh Mercer group in the afternoon.
Spanberger’s communications staff, Rosa Woodring and Kate McCarthy, said they’ve been tracking the bike bus movement around the state, and hope to encourage more parents and schools to support them.
“We’re seeing the way different communities are using them to build community for students,” Woodring said.
The Hugh Mercer Bike Bus collects students from Normandy Village, Canal Quarter, College Terrace, and College Heights. Depending on where students start, the route—which was developed by parents three years ago—goes along the Canal Path, along Franklin Street, through the University of Mary Washington campus by the Jepson Science Center, across the pedestrian bridge over Emancipation Highway, and behind Eagle Village shopping center to link up Monticello Square apartments across Cowan Boulevard from the school.
The total route is about two miles in length and there are two big hills, although the UMW parking garage provides an alternative to one of them. Parents rides in the front and back of the group to ensure that everyone is safe and stays together.
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