> ## 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.

# Bike to School day pedals off
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/bike-to-school-day-pedals-off/
- Published: 2007-12-06T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T04:15:06.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

CITY STREETS Throughout his more than three full years of high school, Austin Draper’s mode of transportation to school has slowly evolved from walking to skateboarding to bicycling.

While it seems as though the natural transition in his senior year would be to get behind the wheel of a car, the bicycling enthusiast has no plans of relinquishing the old faithful handlebars.

“It’s funny, because when I do get a ride to school, I’m always late... because of traffic,” the Samohi student said en route to school Wednesday morning.

Draper was among the approximately 85 students that ditched car rides in favor of a healthy bicycle commute to school on Wednesday as part of Samohi’s first “Bike Day” event, hosted by two student organizations — the Samohi Solar Alliance and the Bike Coalition.

The purpose of the event was to showcase the feasibility of commuting to school via bicycle, a transportation method that event organizers believe most students don’t see as an option because of the extra time it could take to beat the bell.

“It’s something (many students) think would take too long to do in the morning,” said senior Owen Gorman, the president and founder of the Bike Coalition. “They would have to wake up too early and sleep is really important for kids our age.”

*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)