On a mid-November day with a chill in the air and a dusting of snow on the ground, Boulder resident Leslie Bohm, CEO of Catalyst Communications took this observer on a tour of Boulder that included a stop at an elementary school.

This was not your normal American elementary school. The day we observed the morning routine of kids arriving at school there was one noticable difference.

Even with a temperature near 30 degrees and fresh snow on the ground the kids arriving at school on bikes outnumbered the mini-vans and cars dropping off kids by about 10:1.

The kids who ride in are rewarded with the simplest of incentives: they get to trip the “Freikometer.” The what?? The Freiker—a play on the words “frequent biker”—can read a small chip that is taped to the top of a kid’s helmet. When the child rides under the monitor his/her miles are logged into the records. The system was created by a Boulder Dad who wanted his kids to ride more. The Freikometers have proven that they can double the amount of trips a child will take by bike. The program offers incentives for as little as 10 rides, and for making 160 trips in a year a child can earn an ipod. It’s too cool for school! For information on the Freiker system check out www.freiker.org.

Photo: Boulderite high fives Trek’s advocacy director under the Freikometer, an electronic chip reader that registers the child has arrived at school.