CINCINNATI — In Pleasant Ridge, if you're up early enough on Friday morning, you may see a pack of parents and kids biking through the neighborhood.
It's part of a nationwide trend called the "bike bus". Parents and students from Pleasant Ridge Montessori get together on Friday mornings and ride their bikes to school.
Mackenzie Farmer started the tradition earlier this year.
"We thought it'd be really good for them to get some physical activity before school," Farmer said.
Farmer said the rides to school help teach the kids bike safety, and parents help them learn the rules of the road.
WATCH: See how the 'bike bus' works and why it's growing in Pleasant Ridge
Parents like AJ Horn said riding in a big group keeps everyone safe.
“It’s a great way to start the day," Horn said.
Horn takes part in the roughly mile-long ride to the school along with his wife and three boys.
He said having parents and kids bike to school also helps ease traffic congestion around the building.
“We had 17 kids in our bike bus today, and that’s probably at least 10 cars off the road," Horn said.
Horn's wife, Erin, said Montgomery Road can be a little dicey during the morning rush. However, she said she and other parents make sure everyone is safe on the route.
“I do think that traffic is lighter on Fridays because we have a bunch of people biking," Erin Horn said.
Erin Horn said most days it's hard to get her boys up for school. But on bike bus days, she said it's a different story.
“They’re up before me like, ‘Mom get up, get up, it’s time to go’ and I’m like, ‘My alarm hasn’t even gone off yet,'" Erin Horn said.
Parents encourage others to join the ride if they're interested. The bike ride usually begins shortly after 7 a.m. near the intersection of Ridgewood Avenue and Ridge Circle.
The group said they're looking forward to continuing the tradition next year.
“It creates a sense of community and belonging, because there's kids that they didn’t know that are now biking with us," Erin Horn said.
