Bob the Bike Guy: Saving the Earth One Prom at a Time

Special to Emmaus Patch By Chrissy Cilento, Emmaus High School Senior

Bob Swaim the Bike Guy has become an annual staple at Emmaus High School! Last year he visited the environmental science classes and presented about the impact that bicycles can have on the environment and our community. This year he returned, but he incorporated an important addition into his presentation: slinkies.

Sure it sounds strange, but slinkies represent more than just the classic stair toy. To Bob, slinkies are an environmentally friendly option for children. Instead of being glued to the TV or PlayStation all day, kids playing with slinkies and other older toys get exercise, expand their minds, and are environmentally conscious. Maybe slinkies aren't as cutting edge as the new technologies, but Swaim believes, "sometimes you have to go back to the past to move to the future."

Of course, Bob's presentation wouldn't be complete without his world-renowned collection of bicycles. Bob has about 250 bikes in his collection, all from different parts of the world and all completely unique. He tried some of them out for students and explained the importance of bicycling for the environment. He hopes that one day Emmaus will be come a biking community. 

Bob says: "My vision for the school here is 'what if?' What if we could eliminate one school bus? What if we could invest in an infrastructure for walking and biking around here? It would drop you off at school, churches, shopping, everything. Then once you get to this community you're biking." 

As of right now, Bob's dream may not be close by, but he hopes that through presentations like these, kids will be innovators and make the change they want to see.

He says: "I'm hoping these kids will get a passion for something -- they'll see I'm passionate about these bicycles, these toys, these slinkies, and they'll want to find their passion. They'll become inventors. If somebody can take a spring and make a slinky and be set economically for the rest of his life, these kids can do anything!"

And, true to Bob's hopes, his presentation did rub off on several EHS students. Bob will now be the escort for six Emmaus seniors to the Senior Ball on May 10. They'll be pedaling to the Palace Center on Bob's seven-person Conference Bike! Bob Swaim: saving the environment one prom at a time!

Chrissy Cilento, a senior at Emmaus High School, plans to study journalism in college. She is a periodic contributor to Patch.