Students pedal bikes for more than a joy ride

An enrichment day last week for Queen of Peace Catholic School found a large group of students bicycling through the Historic West End of Cloquet. The goal was to teach students the rules of the road.

"They're going to be riding bikes long before they're driving cars," said volunteer Paul Baecker. "They've got to know the rules."

Baecker works with the school as a mental health therapist. He and his wife, Jana, and their four young children moved to Cloquet from Germany, where they were immersed in bicycling culture.

The Baeckers both attended undergraduate school at the University of Minnesota Duluth and loved the area so much they had long planned to move back. Jana is from Germany.

An avid cyclist, Baecker wanted to give back and teach students the importance of bicycle safety. The group rode for 6 miles last week, tooling along the West End bicycle lane through Dunlap Island Park and local trails.

"We actually had a couple kids who didn't know how to bike, so we started them on balance bikes," Baecker said.

The school used Carlton County's Bike Fleet Summer Loaner Program to outfit the students. The program costs $100 for the week to secure a trailer full of bicycles and related equipment, including helmets.

Before embarking on the group ride, Baecker taught students how to test the brakes and gears, and check the tires before each use. They also worked on using hand signals for stopping and turning, and included the downward right hand to point out potholes for trailing riders.

It's year-round knowledge, Baecker said.

"The hand signals are the exact same in ATV-ing and snowmobiling as in cycling," he said.

For more on renting Carlton County's bike fleet, email Meghann Levitt at [email protected].