Since September, the Price Middle School bike team has gathered to ride their Edison bikes around campus, taking on routes that stretch a few miles. For seventh-grader KeJuan, these rides have been more than just exercise—they’ve been a journey of personal growth.
“The bike club supports our initiatives for health and wellness”, says Michelle Witherspoon, FCS Youth Development Coordinator. “So it is much more than just riding bikes, although that alone has significant benefits both mentally, emotionally, and physically. It helps build a holistic community.”
At the start of the season, KeJuan struggled with one of the steeper hills on their regular route. Each week, he hesitated, unsure if he could make it to the top. “I couldn’t go up the hill and down the hill for a while,” KeJuan shares. “But now I go up and down the hill. My friends really helped me by telling me I could do it and not to stop. That made me feel like I had someone counting on me. Riding bikes has helped me to keep going in life and not stop.”
FCS Youth Development Coordinator Michelle Witherspoon recalls a pivotal moment in KeJuan’s journey. Beyond the challenge of the hill, KeJuan had also been hesitant to transition from his Edison bike to a manual bike with gears. One day at practice, Michelle greeted him, looked at the manual bike, and said with confidence, “KeJuan, today is your day.”
Price Middle School sits on a big hill—one that Kejuan had struggled to ride up before. But with his teammates cheering him on, he pedaled forward and kept going, even when it got tough. When he reached the top, he grinned and shouted, “I did that thing!”
After completing the route, Michelle asked KeJuan, “What about today made it your day?” Without hesitation, he responded, “It was the encouragement from everybody.” Michelle smiled and reminded him, “You needed someone to encourage you, and you needed to encourage yourself.”
Today, Price Middle School’s bike team closed out their season with a celebratory dinner, marking the end of months of hard work, growth, and teamwork. KeJuan’s journey is a reminder that challenges feel a little easier when we have people supporting us along the way. We are so proud of this team for sticking with it and showing up for each other.
