On Board Online • October 13, 2025
By Maura Manny
Director of Community Outreach and Communicationssaratoga Springs City School District
The Saratoga Springs City School District (SSCSD) is proud to be the first district in New York State - and possibly the country - to offer a K-12 biking program. This program integrates biking into physical education classes at all grade levels, giving every student the opportunity to develop the lifelong skill of riding a bike.
The program is made possible through a partnership with Shredders MTB, a 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to empower kids by getting them on bikes.
In 2023, all six elementary schools in the district received donations of balance bikes with pedal conversion kits, which allow young students to learn balance first and then progress to a pedal bike. In addition, a donated fleet of 30 kid-sized mountain bikes rotates among the six schools.
Maple Avenue Middle School added mountain bikes in 2024 with support from Shredders MTB, and this fall more mountain bikes arrived at Saratoga Springs High School. In addition, the group donated adult-sized balance bikes for the MS/HS Unified PE class. The 5,800-student district now has 254 donated bikes.
"It is nothing short of amazing that this initiative to get all SSCSD kids on bikes got funded and rolled out in three years," said Kelsey Allen, department head for physical education. "The positive impact this programming will have on our students, school, and community is infinite. Our physical education teachers are dedicated to running this program and making sure all kids, K-12, have the skills, knowledge and confidence to ride bikes for the rest of their lives."
Allen credited local parent Anna Laloe, a state champion mountain biker who founded the Shredders organization. Her group has also donated bikes to the Schenectady Boys and Girls Club, as well as children of backstretch workers at the Saratoga racetrack. The Shredders also built a new trail at Camp Stomping Ground, a summer overnight camp for children ages 6-14 that has a "pay what you will" policy.
"We are so grateful for the incredible collaboration with the Saratoga Springs City School District over the last three years," said Laloe, a geologist and sustainability consultant with a doctorate from the University of Cambridge. Her experience includes leading Arctic and Antarctic field research on climate change.
Another passion of Laloe (pronounced "LALL-o-way") is ultimate frisbee. She was a U.S. collegiate champion player in 2000 and played with Great Britain's national women's team, GB Women's Ultimate, for six years. She also spent a year as head coach for the men's ultimate frisbee team at Skidmore College in Saratoga.
"Thanks to the generosity of our local individual and foundation donors, Shredders MTB raised over $100,000 to provide more than 250 bikes, helmets, curriculum, and teacher training to the district," Laloe said. "It's an exciting milestone for Saratoga and a powerful example of what can happen when a community comes together to remove barriers and create opportunities for all kids."
The district celebrated the program's completion with a High School Mountain Bike Roll-Out Celebration on Sept. 26. Students, teachers, donors and representatives from Shredders MTB showcased the new high school bikes and shared their excitement about the initiative.