> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Samohi bike rack fills with 90 bicycles as students pedal to school - URL: https://www.smdp.com/120607-story/ - Published: 2007-12-06T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T04:15:17.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Environment, Santa Monica, #archive-import could be an indicator that some students might be thinking two wheels are better than four. The high school’s bike rack area, which normally contains about 30 bicycles on any given day, was packed with more than 90 two-wheelers by the time school started on Wednesday morning. A handful of those bicycles belonged to faculty, estimated Rachel Horn, one of the co-presidents of the Samohi Solar Alliance. “It’s daunting until you do it,” said Lulu Mickelson, a co-president of the Samohi Solar Alliance along with Mara McKevitt. Many of the students involved with the two organizations are avid bike riders, commuting on two wheels almost every day of the week. Draper, who is a member of both organizations, has been riding his bike to school every day since his junior year, favoring bike ridding because of the environmental and health benefits. The commute from his house in the Wil- Mont area of town to Samohi — about two miles — takes about 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the traffic along California Avenue near Lincoln Middle School. Draper’s daily route to school presents different challenges, from the lack of bike lanes on Lincoln Boulevard, forcing the Samohi student onto the sidewalk, to the absence of traffic signals at the intersections of Ninth Street and Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard, keeping the student waiting until the coast is clear to dash down the southbound street. SHARING THE ROAD? Still, Draper’s biggest challenge is the occasional honk and scream by impatient motorists that believe the student should-n’t be acting as a motorist on the road, yelling at him to get off his bike. “Some people will honk for no reason,” Draper said as he steered onto California Avenue. His determination to ride the bike to school every day seemed to unnerve his parents, who were concerned about their son getting to and from school safely. After Draper was hit by a motorist at Lincoln Boulevard and Santa Monica Boulevard about two months ago, he succumbed to his mother’s wishes and finally donned a helmet. Draper didn’t sustain any injuries in the accident. But on Wednesday morning,he didn’t have his helmet handy, having left it in his girl-friend’s car the day before. The student opted for a head scarf and seemed to take more precaution in his ride, coming to complete stops at four-way stop signs, even if there weren’t any cars at the intersection. Draper said he now always tries to wear a helmet. “I’ll be the cool one when my head is protected (in an accident),” he said as he slowed down near Lincoln Middle School. To Draper, bicycle riding fosters community more than driving, which can be a solitary activity, especially in car-centric Southern California. Draper himself occasionally rides with several of his friends to school. One of his riding buddies is Gorman, who lives just a few blocks away. Gorman, who founded the Bike Coalition this year, has been riding his bike to school since he was a student at Lincoln Middle School. The ride from Gorman’s house north of Montana Avenue to Samohi takes about 15 minutes. Gorman was also involved in two minor car-versus-bicycle accidents, neither of which resulted in injuries. He doesn’t believe the students at Samohi are reluctant to ride their bikes to school because of the potential dangers. The students just don’t even think of hopping on a bike, he said. “We need events like Bike to School Day to get kids to try it and, hopefully, it will lead to a lifelong positive attitude toward biking,” Gorman said. The two organizations hope to make the Bike Day a biannual event, planning to sponsor another one next semester. “It’s a promotional day advertising bicycles as an alternative form of transportation that’s not combustion engine,” Horn said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 6, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/120607.pdf?ref=smdp.com)