As an adult who has chosen to commute by bike, I can make the decision without much complaint or discussion. However, it is a bit different for kids who are often pulled into commuting by bike. After all, they are kids, and as such, I need to appeal to kid logic. When I pick up my kids from school, I have an after school snack with me so they can munch during the bike ride home. Additionally, we play games. One such game is an alphabet game. Aside from the educational benefits (sorry, I teach middle school), it usually lasts the whole ride home.

The alphabet game works like this: We choose a topic like “animals” and say “A” and list as many animals as we can that start with that letter: alligator, asp, ant, aardvark, and of course—albatross. Yesterday, we did the list with the category of “bike”.   

A is for Alan wrench, 6mm  

B is for Bakfiets 

C is for Cranskshaft 

D is for Derailer 

E is for Energy bars, homemade by Mom

F is for Flats 

G is for Green Box

H is for Helmet 

I is for Inner-tube 

J is for Jumping off ramps 

K is for Kidical Mass 

L is for Light 

M is for Metrofiets, keep your eye on these guys

N is for Nut 

O is for Open Lane 

P is for Panniers 

Q is for Quick release 

R is for Racks for bikes 

S is for Spokes 

T is for Training Wheels 

U is for “U-Bolt” lock 

V is for Visibility at night  

W is for Wheel 

X is for Xtracycle 

Y is for Yellow vest 

Z is for Zoo Bomb

It just so happens that this was an idea used in a movie for the Filmed by Bike festival last year. Filmed by Bike is a three day event of bike themed movies that takes place this year on April 17-19, in Portland. See you there. You can purchase DVDs of last year's movies, here. 

Next time you leave your house, grab your bike and have a wheely good time.

Photo courtesy of Sara Cross

For more of The Wheel American Family, try Twitter at BikeNounVerb.