Bike to School Day

Today is bike to school day.  To celebrate, my son's school organized a group ride of about three miles, from a park to the school ... complete with police escort (two motorcycles, like they do for funerals). 

It's a beautiful day for riding, and the kids were excited with anticipation as they gathered before the ride started.  During the course of this adventure, I noticed two different people who weren't part of the ride. 

The first passed by our group before we started riding.  He was pretty obviously a bicycle commuter ~ I assumed, looking at him, that he rode his bike to work most days.  He slowed down as he approached the group and asked what was happening.  I told him that it's bike to school day, to which he replied, "How about bike to work day every day."

The second person I noticed also looked like a regular bicycle commuter on his way to work.  He passed us as we were riding.  Since he was going the other way, he didn't have the opportunity to ask about our group.  He did, however, have (and take) the opportunity to clap his hands and shout words of encouragement to the elementary school students riding down the street.

Which of these, do you think, did more to encourage young people to spend more time on their bikes?  The one who focused on, and bragged about, himself and who made us feel inadequate for biking on this one day?  Or the one who was encouraging and supportive?

$0.02