Students, staff put bike month into gear
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published April 30, 2008

Neither rain, bad weather or any other potential problem could deter more than 300 students and staff from kicking off Bike to School Month Monday at Bay High School.

All the riders brought an assortment of bikes to the school and other locations in the district from 7 to 7:45 a.m. The program was a followup to a one day event last year which started as a way to protest ever rising gas prices while also finding a way to help the environment by not using cars and gasoline for transportation to school.

Scott Cowan, the owner of Century Cycles and one of the co-sponsors of the event along with the Project Earth Environmental Club at BHS, said it was a great turnout considering the weather.

“A lot of people had those wet stripes on the backs of their pants today from riding the bike in some pretty bad weather,” Cowan said. “I think it was a Red Badge of Courage for them to come in this weather. I don’t think the weather can get any worse this time of year, so I think it can only get better.”

School Superintendent Clint Keener said the students did well.

“It was something seeing all those bikes coming into the school even with the bad weather,” Keener said. “I would think we’ll get even more as the weather gets better.”

Cowan said more than 500 students signed up for the program.

“We’ll see more of the signees participating I would imagine,” Cowan said.

A Bay High graduate himself, Cowan said he was inspired by last year’s event.

“I looked at the story about it and said, ‘We’ve got to do something to help,’ in something like this,” Cowan said. After that, Cowan went to the school with the Bike to School Month idea and found that Eryn Whistler, a science teacher at the school and adviser to the Project Earth group, was willing to team up. The Club will be administering the program at the school daily, checking in bikes and helping them redeem various prizes.

 Cowan directly participated by helping people sign up prior to Monday’s start as well as coming to the school Monday to help out.

“I was up at 3 a.m. to get over and help out, but it was worth it to see the kids put all that into it,” he said.

More than 300 students took part with 28 BHS teachers and staff signing up, including Principal Jim Cahoon and Vice Principal Jason Martin. Other district workers, including Beth Conroy, who works at the K.T. Allen Administration building.

“I got out my bike I’ve had since I was 10 years old,” Conroy said. “It’s fun to ride it again, and I wanted to support the students and fighting the high gas prices. It’s a worthwhile thing to do.”

Other groups are helping out, with Chipotle at Crocker Park giving a free burrito to each BHS student who signed up and rode the first day. It also will give students who complete all four levels an exclusive burrito party at the school May 23. The assistance falls in line with Chipotle’s being a corporate sponsor of Slipstream, an international bicycle-riding team competing in the Tour De France this summer.

Bicycle manufacturers Raleigh and Giant have each donated a mountain bike as grand prizes in the May 23 raffle, bike accessory firm QBP donated 100 Knog Frog bike lights as prizes, NOACA gave 300 Cuyahoga County bike maps for student registration packets and the Bay Village Police Department offered free bicycle registration to students.