North Shore Health Administrator Kimber Wraalstad gives instructions to these two handsome young fellows about how to safely ride their bicycles through a tricky course marked in chalk in the parking lot of the Cook County Community Center. Wraalstad was just one of many volunteers who helped with the annual Moving Matters Bike Safety Rodeo held Thursday, May 12.
On May 12, 2016, dozens of children and families and over 20 volunteers gathered for the Bike Safety Rodeo in Grand Marais. This annual event is a great local opportunity for children to get ready for spring and summer biking with a bike and helmet check as well as some bike safety education. Children of all ages enjoyed riding the bike skills course and making blender bike smoothies, using a bike that has been converted to run a blender.
“The blender bike was a big hit as kids love to use their own power to make a fruit smoothie to enjoy, even the ones with short legs that barely reach the pedals.
“The Bike Safety Rodeo is a great place for us all to come together and be reminded that we are all part of this community, helping kids be safe and physically active while having fun,” said Rita Plourde, CEO of the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and the blender bike station volunteer this year.
The Bike Rodeo has been a Grand Marais staple for many years, helping ensure that kids are safer bicyclists with a properly fit helmet, a checked bike, and testing their ability on the skills course.
Participants learn that bicycling is a healthy and fun way to get around, no matter your age. From toddlers on strider bikes to older elementary students on 10-speed bikes, all had a good time checking out the Rodeo and meeting both community volunteers and local law enforcement in a relaxed environment.
Maren Webb, Safe Routes to School coordinator, said, “Thank you to the Safe Routes to School Committee, Active Living Steering Committee, Statewide Health Improvement Program (SHIP), Sawtooth Elementary School, Great Expectations School, Superior North Outdoor Center, Como Oil and Propane, Cook County Public Health and Human Services, Cook County Sheriff ’s Office, U.S. Border Patrol, North Shore Hospital, Superior Cycling Association, the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic and its Moving Matters project, Cook County Community Center, Johnson’s Foods, Cook County Whole Foods Co-op, City of Grand Marais, and many other community volunteers.”
The Safe Routes to School Committee updated its Safe Routes to School Plan in 2015, which includes education programs such as the Bike Safety Rodeo. Safe Routes to School programs include the 5 Es: Education, Encouragement, Evaluation, Engineering, and Enforcement. For more information about Grand Marais Safe Routes to School, contact SRTS Coordinator Maren Webb, at maren@sawtoothmountainclinic.org or 218-387-2330.
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