Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Surgeon General of the United States was in Portland Wednesday.  Dr. Steven Galson gave the Bicycle Transportation Alliance an award for teaching kids to bike safely, and for promoting good health through cycling.  The Surgeon General joined in a rite of passage; a rainy Oregon bike ride.  Galson tagged along with 9 students from the Harriet Tubman Young Women's Leadership Academy.

He said the Bicycle Transportation Alliance had created a model for the entire country.  The BTA has taught 40,000 kids the essentials of bike safety in the past decade.

Galson called childhood obesity a "serious epidemic" and said kids spend too much time inside playing video games.

Galson: "We have to think of better ways to get kids out to encourage activity with the way that we construct our cities, and the way we talk and educate kids and talk to our families."

BTA founder and Metro Councilor Rex Burkholder urged the Tubman students to keep cycling, and added that bikes are an indicator of a healthy community.