Noah Furcht of Grand Marais gets up bright and early every school day to head to school on his bicycle. Only on the most extreme weather days does he accept a ride. He is all smiles as he reaches school and parks his bike on a recent snowy day.
Noah Furcht of Grand Marais is like a lot of other 10 year olds: he gets up every school day and gets himself ready to go to school. He packs his school bag, grabs his coat and gloves and heads out the door to make his daily journey to the classroom. But Noah doesn’t wait for the bus, mom and dad don’t get in the car to drive him and he doesn’t walk. Instead, Noah goes out to the garage and grabs his Eastern Cobra two-wheeler and pedals down the driveway and all the way to school. Every day.
Like the proverbial postman, “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep the postmen from their appointed rounds,” except, of course, when extreme conditions threaten his safety, Noah pedals undeterred to and from Sawtooth Mountain Elementary.
And he has fun doing it. Noah explains, “I decided to ride my bike to school because the bus doesn’t pick me up close to my house anymore. I don’t want to wait for a ride, because I like to get to school early to play on the playground.
“For winter riding, I wear my snow pants, boots, winter coat, gloves, a ski helmet that covers my ears and a face mask if it is really cold. It is hard to ride in the snow because it grabs onto the spokes, but it is fun to watch my tires go through the snow. We had to get a white headlight for the front of my bike and a red light for the back when the days got shorter.
“The hardest part about my ride to school is waiting for traffic when I want to cross County Road 7 or at the hospital corner. I feel a lot safer on the sidewalks and I wish we had more of them.
“I have a goal to ride my bike every day of the school year because I love riding my bike. Doing tricks on the way to school makes it fun,” said Noah.
“Noah is a great example,” said Jerry Hiniker, Safe Routes to Schools coordinator for area schools, “He does exactly what I hope to get lots of other kids doing, either riding their bikes or walking to school. It’s healthy, productive, helps reduce congestion, saves energy, and is one of the best things kids can do to avoid obesity, which has become an alarming problem with today’s youth.”
Hiniker added, “Noah is a role model, a hero to me. He demonstrates that Minnesota winters are no excuse to put your bikes away for six months. Bikes can be ridden safely in all types of conditions.”
Safe Routes To School is a national program begun by former Congressman Jim Oberstar and has been implemented in hundreds of school systems throughout the country to not only help lead to healthier lifestyles, but to provide safety to the students along designated routes.
Currently there are three such routes leading to Sawtooth Mountain Elementary and Great Expectations School. On February 15, Hiniker will lead a “walking school bus” along the central corridor, starting at the Cook County courthouse and proceeding to the schools on the primary streets with sidewalks. Hiniker invites schoolchildren and community members to join him.
The walking school bus, as well as a winter riding demo, are a part of the “Move It” event being held throughout the month of February. Visit www.SawtoothMountainClinic.org and click on “Move It” for more details.
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