Ocean Beach students are biking to school safely and daily for fun and exercise. It’s an activity that’s really catching on – and gaining momentum – as others join in.

Christened the “OB Express Bike Brigade” by a dog-friendly neighbor, the group started out in 2018 with just three members. Four years later, the brigadiers continue to ride the mile or so to and from Warren-Walker, a private K-8 independent school at 4605 Point Loma Ave.

“They travel down Point Loma Avenue every morning and back up that huge hill every afternoon,” said brigadier mom Jenny Pletner. She added the school bike group, which “started slowly in 2018,” is now up to 14 boys. “They are practicing bike safety and gaining independence, all while eliminating the need for 14 cars to travel through our neighborhood and drop them off at school,” she said. “It’s pretty awesome.”

Each brigadier now proudly wears a hoodie gifted to them by Pletner, which has their first name, group’s name, and logo inscribed on the back, along with the date the brigade was established.

Why are the students doing it?

Their answers might surprise you.

“It’s kind of boring just going in a car to school,” pointed out Sam Koett, whose brother, Liam, was a brigade founder. “It’s also a lot more fun because you get to go home with your friends. It also saves energy and fuel for cars.”

“We go every school day of the year unless it’s raining,” said Quinn Wolski, who’s been riding for 1 ½ year. “I wanted to join for two reasons: because all my friends were in it, and because we were saving electricity and oil.”

Mateo Besse had to quit riding for a while after he broke his arm. “I couldn’t ride for like three months, which was kind of annoying,” he said. “Then I joined back a month ago.”

As to why he came back, Besse noted: “I live far away and sometimes I have to get to school early because my parents have something else to do early in the morning. I saw a bunch of my friends doing it and I was like, ‘Oh, wait, this could be kind of fun.’ And also, you get to school early.”

Warren-Walker starts school at 8:15 a.m. and the OB Express Bike Brigade usually starts down the hill at about 7:45 a.m. to get there in time.

OB Express Bike Brigade is currently not co-ed. But that could change.

“Jason and Sam in our group said we should get some girls in here, and we’re trying to get two to join,” said Matteo Savoia.

“We are also adding younger people, younger brothers and kids from other grades,” added Koett.

Hudon Loftus noted brigadiers all end up at Koett’s house on Friday afternoons after school to stomp on the trampoline and celebrate the beginning of the weekend.

About half of the OB Express Bike Brigade is in Sara Yates’ fourth-grade class at Warren-Walker, a small private school that has been in the community for more than 90 years.

“The brigade enters through my gate each morning so I get the inside scoop on the latest news, who lost a chain, who popped a tire, etc., thrilling stuff,” noted Yates. “Some days they have to answer a pop quiz question before entering like, ‘What year did California become a state?’ I saw an opportunity to squeeze a little more learning in.”

Yates said Warren-Walker typically allows students to walk or bike home with parent permission within a reasonable distance starting in third grade.

“The brigade seems to have the rules down: helmets, road safety, and they know they all need to ride together,” she said. “The bike brigade does not leave school until everyone is accounted for at their meeting spot. We (the faculty) all love that the boys ride to school and hope the tradition continues. I would love to see some of the ladies join in. I occasionally ride my bike to school to try and encourage this, but so far, no takers.”