MIDDLEBURG – RideOut Elementary kindergarteners were ready to ride the 22 bikes donated by Tucker Powersports Friday morning.

Students donned helmets and practiced their bike-riding skills with varying degrees of success and supervision. Some raced. They used the bikes for balance and staff would add pedals when the children were ready.

Jackson was waiting his turn for the bikes with his class.

“I think we’re going to zoom very fast because I like going fast,” the kindergartener said.

The school was selected by Tucker Powersports for a $4,000 grant via the All Kids Bike Initiative. The initiative provides 22 Strider bikes and pedal conversion kits, 22 helmets and a five-year support plan for schools.

RideOut Elementary Principal Kim Marks said riding bikes at an early age was an excellent opportunity for children. She said the initial goal was to teach them balance and mobility.

The All Kids Bike Initiative cites multiple studies showing the positive effects of riding a bike at a young age. Overweight adolescents who participate in bicycling three to four days a week are 85% more likely to have a normal weight as adults, a study from the Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine stated.

“It’s going to build social and emotional health as well as their physical wellbeing,” Marks said.

“Once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget they say.”

Marks said the school and future students benefited long term from the grant.

“We feel it’s going to touch many children. These bikes are never going away,” Marks said. “It’ll be with our kindergarteners for the next few years.”

Tucker Powersports staff members were on hand. Distribution center manager Jason Moak said the tiny bikes help bridge a gap for young bike-riders. The vendor, Strider, sold about 7 million small bikes, he said.

“We’re excited to be part of the program,” he said. “The balance really comes early.”

Superintendent Addison Davis said he hoped the bikes would give children a fondness for riding and physical activity.

“Riding bikes is ageless,” Davis said. “There’s so many physical and mental benefits to riding a bike.”