For generations, kids have learned how to ride a bike — a quintessential childhood milestone — in driveways, on sidewalks and in neighborhood streets. Now, they're learning in school gyms and playgrounds.
On a recent September day, kindergarteners at Terra Vista Elementary School in Rancho Cucamonga, California, were fitted with helmets and assigned a black-and-white balance bike. Off they went, propelling themselves with their legs and practicing gliding on the pedal-free bikes. The kids started and stopped on a circular path outlined by orange traffic cones, with adults watching and directing nearby.
