A childhood rite moves indoors as kindergartners learn to ride bikes in school gyms

For generations, kids have learned how to ride a bike — a quintessential childhood milestone — in driveways, on sidewalks and in neighborhood streets. Now, they're learning in school gyms and playgrounds.

On a recent September day, kindergarteners at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, were fitted with helmets and assigned a black-and-white balance bike. Off they went, propelling themselves with their legs and practicing gliding on the pedal-free bikes. The kids started and stopped on a circular path outlined by orange traffic cones, with adults watching and directing nearby.

For every nervous face, there was another with a smile. For every squeal, there was a laugh.

All Kids Bike, a program within a nonprofit organization, has brought a learn-to-ride curriculum into nearly 2,000 U.S. elementary schools. They've made bike-riding part of physical education for children who might otherwise have to wait for an adult or older sibling to teach them — or whose neighborhood and socioeconomic status might stop them from getting the chance.

When schools apply for the program, All Kids Bike can pair them with donors that fund the costs. In Rancho Cucamonga, the city provided $45,000 to gift the equipment and the curriculum to Terra Vista and four other schools.

The eight-lesson curriculum gradually moves children from simply walking with and getting comfortable on a properly fitted bike to balancing with both feet off the ground. Then, adults add pedals and the students progress to full-fledged cycling.

The activity is perfect for kindergarten physical education classes, says Drew Raney, a P.E. teacher in Wasco, California. For schools’ youngest students, gym class focuses on exploring movement, learning to share space and equipment, following directions and having fun. The learning can happen with rainbow parachutes, scooter boards, Hippity Hops — and now, bicycles.

For Raney, who teaches the All Kids Bike program at his school, some of his favorite moments come when students begin lifting their feet and riding in stop-and-go spurts.

“Once you see students start to kind of glide around, that’s when you can start to see that confidence shoot up because they’re taking those first steps and they’re putting themselves out of their comfort zone,” he said.

In Seattle, district physical education manager Lori Dunn sees learning to ride a bike as more than simply mastering a recreational skill. The process requires balance, core stability, sequencing and body awareness, she said, with each step building on the one before it. She compares it to typing or keyboarding: Once children learn the skill, it's easier to pick it up later, with practice.

The process can also teach children how to handle frustration as they wobble or fall.

Hopefully, bike riding will someday be “just like basketball or dodgeball or whatever other sport there is,” becoming such a basic skill that it is simply part of PE, said Lisa Weyer, executive director of the Strider Education Foundation, which operates All Kids Bike.

Some schools also pair the curriculum with other programs to teach road and pedestrian safety and expand access for children with disabilities.

For example, Seattle Public Schools also participates in Let’s Go, which serves third, fourth and fifth grades, and includes adaptations for students with additional mobility and cognitive needs. Students in the district also learn how to cross streets, make eye contact with drivers and recognize unsafe behavior. “Traffic gardens” on school playgrounds give students a chance to practice navigating intersections, stop signs, roads and parking areas, giving them skills they can use as pedestrians, cyclists and eventually drivers.

The program can also give children a sense of freedom and independence, Weyer said, while getting them away from screens and into active play.

“We want them to be able to have that sense of freedom and independence,” Weyer said. “That’s a life skill. It’s like swimming.”

The lessons can stick with students long after the bikes are put away, Raney said.

“I have now third graders that are running up and they still remember three years ago, ‘That’s our bike teacher!’" he said. Some students still remember the chants from the end of the lessons.

“On three, we’re gonna say, ‘We can ride.’ What are we gonna say?” he asks his students.

“We can ride!” they shout.

Jae Hong contributed reporting from Rancho Cucamonga, California.

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.

Students participate in a learn-to-ride program at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Kindergartner Carson Hagens, center, smiles as he removes his helmet after riding a bike during a learn-to-ride program at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Physical education teacher Ray Herrera demonstrates how to ride a bike as students gather for a learn-to-ride program at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Teachers help students put on their helmets during a learn-to-ride program at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Students participate in a learn-to-ride program at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026.(AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The clock is ticking toward an unusual deadline in the NHL, and teams with players relevant to it are rushing to beat the final horn.

The new collective bargaining agreement goes into effect at midnight, at which time a seven-year contract will be the longest a player can re-sign with his own team — and six years in free agency. The final eight-year deals are getting done Tuesday.

Washington locked up Ryan Leonard for $84 million starting with the 2027-28 season. Making an average of $10.5 million a year through 2035, he will match new Capitals teammate Alex Tuch, who also got eight years in a sign-and-trade with Buffalo, for the highest-paid player on the team when Leonard's new deal kicks in.

“Ryan is a young and talented player who is still years away from entering his prime, and we believe he has tremendous potential to continue growing into an important player for our organization,” general manager Chris Patrick said in announcing Leonard's contract. “While reaching his full potential will take time, we have been impressed with his work ethic and the way he continues to develop his game. We are confident in Ryan’s ability to continue improving as a hockey player, and we believe this agreement provides him with the opportunity to grow and develop within our organization, while giving us the ability to keep a talented young player in our lineup for years to come.”

Leonard, a 21-year-old winger, is going into his second full NHL season after breaking in during the spring of 2025. This contract cements his place as part of the Capitals' young, post-Alex Ovechkin core, which is expected to also include brothers Ilya and Aliaksei Protas.

Washington forward Justin Sourdif also got an eight-year extension before the deadline: $50.8 million, for an annual cap hit of $6.35 million. Sourdif will be 25 when it goes into effect.

“Justin is a good young forward who has continued to develop steadily throughout his career,” Patrick said. “He is versatile and demonstrated his ability to play an important forward role for our team whenever the opportunity arose last season. ... We believe he has a bright future ahead of him and are confident that he will continue to make valuable contributions to our organization in the coming years.”

Ottawa signed Drake Batherson for $86 million, which is the most lucrative contract in Senators history. The previous record was Tim Stützle's eight-year, $66.8 million extension from September 2022.

Batherson will count $10.75 million against the salary cap starting in 2027, surpassing Stützle’s $8.35 million. He'll be 29 at that point.

“He was drafted and developed by our organization and has shown a commitment to wanting to be in Ottawa long term,” GM Steve Staios said of Batherson. “We view him as a key part of our core group.”

Batherson has set career highs in scoring each of the past seven seasons, topping out at 71 last year. He is just the second player in league history to do that seven times in a row, joining Vic Stasiuk from 1953-54 to '59-60 with Detroit.

Since the NHL and the NHL Players' Association came to an agreement on this CBA in late June 2025, 34 players have signed eight-year contracts. Thirteen of those have come in the past three months, including Colorado's Cale Makar setting the record for the most money at $163.2 million.

After being flat or nearly flat coming out of the pandemic, the salary cap is the middle of a series of record increases, now that revenues have caught up and are skyrocketing. The cap went from $95.5 million last season to $104 million this season and will be $113.5 million in 2027-28, when most of these new contracts will go into effect.

Philadelphia signing Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet in July that made him the highest-paid player in the sport at $18 million a year — which the Ducks matched to keep him — led to a spike in salaries this summer.

Vegas center Jack Eichel, who is now making $13.5 million on his long-term contract signed last October, said agent Pat Brisson told him about what was coming and they had talks with NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh and others at the union and decided to go the full eight years anyway.

“It’s an incredible deal for me and my family, and we’re super grateful for the organization and the city believing in us,” Eichel said last week. “There’s no signer's remorse. Yeah, I'm a happy guy.”

Eichel led the Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup in 2023. He and fellow standouts such as Makar, Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov, and Florida teammates Sam Bennett and Aaron Ekblad are proven commodities.

Many of the young players getting eight-year deals this offseason are team gambles of varying degrees.

As recently as Monday, Buffalo signed 22-year-old center Noah Ostlund for $52.8 million, banking on his potential. Ostlund has played in just 71 games in the league thus far.

Pittsburgh signed Ville Koivunen for $32 million over eight years in August. He has 14 points in 42 career games.

Beginning Wednesday, no contract can have more than 60% paid in signing bonuses. New Jersey and defending champion Carolina each got a deal done just in time.

The Hurricanes signed captain and Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP Jordan Staal to a one-year extension, while the Devils extended recently acquired forward Luke Evangelista for five years and $36.25 million. Staal's contract is worth $900,000 in salary, with a $4 million signing bonus and up to $5.1 million in additional performance incentives.

“Jordan is not only our captain, he’s the bedrock of the culture we’ve established in this organization,” GM Eric Tulsky said. “His leadership and on-ice performance throughout last season and especially in the playoffs was a primary factor in bringing the Stanley Cup back to Raleigh.”

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

FILE - Ottawa Senators' Drake Batherson (19) celebrates his goal against the Carolina Hurricanes with teammate Nick Cousins (21) during the second period of an NHL hockey playoff game in Ottawa, Ontario, April 23, 2026. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

FILE - Washington Capitals right wing Ryan Leonard (9) in action during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Utah Mammoth, March 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass, File)