Riding a bike is good exercise and great fun. But what do you do with a bike after you outgrow it? Nicole
Basil, 12, has a terrific answer to this question. When she was 8 years old, she Joined Pedal Power. It is a
charity that collects bikes that kids have outgrown and donates them to Chicago public schools.
Since 2008, Nicols has collected and donated more than 1000 bikes. In addition to the bicycles, Pedal Power
supplied riders with 400 helmets（頭盔）last year. “It is important to ride safely on a bike, and helmets are a
big part of that, ” Nicols says. The Wilmette Bicycle & Sport Shop helps to ensure that all donated bikes are
safe to ride. Each bike receives a five-minute check-up by the shop’s employees.
The bikes are given to students who have good grades and perfect attendance. Nicole says:”Some kids aren’t
as lucky as others, but they still do well in school. I think they should be rewarded for that .” Nicole has
received e-mails and phone calls from parents and teachers that say test scores are improving. “Bikes can take
you far,” she says. “Good grades can take you even further ”
Barton Dassinger is the principal of Cesar E.Chavez school in Chicago. Students in his school have received
bikes. “It’s been a great way to motivate students to do their best, ” Dassinger says. “They work hard to make it
happen.”
騎自行車不但是一項很好的鍛鍊，而且很有趣。但是當你長大了而不適合騎自行車時你會怎麼辦呢？
12 歲的妮可·巴茲爾對此給出了一個極好的答案。她在8 歲時，加入了“踏板的力量”，這是一個慈善機構，
主要收集孩子們騎不了的自行車並把它們捐給芝加哥公共學校。
自從2008 年開始，妮可收集並捐獻了1000 多輛自行車。除了自行車外，去年“踏板的力量”還為騎自
行車者提供了400 個頭盔。“安全騎車很重要，其中頭盔是安全騎車的很大一部分”，妮可說。Wilmette 自
行車運動商店幫助確保所有捐獻的自行車都安全使用。每輛自行車都接受過店員為時5 分鐘的檢查。
自行車被分給那些成績好而且出勤率高的學生。妮可說：“一些孩子不像其他孩子那樣幸運，但是他
們在學校的表現也很優秀。我認為他們應該為此得到獎勵。”妮可接到很多來自家長和老師的郵件和電話，
說孩子的考試分數在提高。她說：“自行車可以帶你去向遠方，好的分數能使你走得更遠。”
Baraton Dassinger 是芝加哥塞薩爾·查韋斯學校的校長。他所在學校的學生收到了自行車。Dassinger 說：
“這是一個激勵孩子精益求精的好方法。他們努力學習使其發生。”