Photo: Boreal Community Media

By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - May 6, 2025

Cook County, Minnesota, continues its tradition of promoting safe biking among youth with its annual bike rodeo and in-school programs, with a series of events beginning this week. 

In-school Bike Education

On May 6, 3rd & 4th-grade students from Great Expectations School and 3rd-graders from Sawtooth Elementary will be able to learn and practice pedestrian and bike safety skills in the YMCA gym as part of in-school education. "We set up a skills course for the kids to work on the power pedal, starting/ stopping, scanning, signaling, and turning. It can be a little chaotic, but it's lots of fun to get the kids who don’t know how to ride or ride well on the bikes in a safe and controlled environment," said Kristina Mattson, Cook County SHIP coordinator. Even kids who know how to ride a bike will benefit from the education.

Mattson shared that the program has evolved over approximately two decades. It originated with Mark and Melinda Spinler, who owned a local bike shop and began teaching bike safety in schools. This initiative then transitioned to the Active Living Steering Committee and later involved the Sawtooth Mountain Clinic with Kristin Warton, who was involved with outreach and community health. Warton implemented the Bike MN Walk! Bike! Fun! curriculum, which was developed by the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Transportation's Safe Routes to School program and BlueCross BlueShield of Minnesota. The curriculum is designed to teach children aged 5 to 13 about traffic rules, potential hazards, and the necessary skills for safe walking and biking in their communities, with goals to increase the number of students who safely walk and bike in their community and improve the lives of children by improving health, learning capacity, and independence. 

Research shows that kids who walk, bike, or roll to school are more focused and ready to learn when they get there. They’re less likely to have behavioral problems and have overall greater academic achievement. Kids are also more likely to gain independence and experience increased confidence, especially when navigating their community.

Eventually, the in-school education program was further developed under the Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) with Maren Webb and Andrea Orest, and is currently managed by the SHIP program under Cook County Public Health.

Walk/Bike/Roll to School Day

On May 7, students and community members will take part in the Minnesota Department of Transportation and Minnesota Safe Routes to School Walk/Bike/Roll to School Day. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, over 160 Minnesota schools have signed up for the event, totaling thousands of students. Mattson shared that the "Safe Routes to School program has numerous benefits to local communities, including reducing traffic congestion, improving air quality, and helping kids arrive at school focused and ready to learn." 

For those who don't live close enough to walk, bike, or roll to school, you can participate in a "walking school bus" or "bike train," which are groups of students and parents/community members who walk and bike to school together from a predetermined location. On May 7, volunteers will meet at the Cook County Community Center and the Cook County Courthouse to lead students to school at 7:30 a.m. (the "bus" and "train" will leave promptly at 7:40 a.m.). 

Parents and guardians can also drop kids off a few blocks away from school to bike/walk/roll on their own if they don't want to participate in the "bus" or "train". 

Volunteers are needed for the Walk/Bike/Roll to School Day. Learn more and sign up here.

Bike Rodeo

On May 22, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., a bike rodeo will take place at the Cook County Community Center. The annual event, sponsored by Cook County Public Health and Human Services, SHIP, BikeMN, Safe Routes to Schools, North Shore Collaborative, Grand Marais Joynes Ben Franklin, and Spokengear, provides a hands-on opportunity for children to practice and enhance their bike safety skills through a variety of activities and courses. Mattson says a bike safety rodeo is “...a skill-building obstacle course developed to teach children basic bicycle riding skills like stopping, balancing, signaling, and turning. These events provide an opportunity for youth to practice and develop effective biking skills and avoid typical crashes.” 

A bike safety course will be set up to help kids practice important skills that they can utilize for a lifetime. Bike maintenance stations will also be on-site for kids and adults to get their bikes tuned up. As in previous years, free helmets will be available thanks to a donation from Joynes Ben Franklin and Cook County Safe Routes to Schools and a grant from North Shore Collaborative. Volunteers will be on hand to assist with proper helmet checks and fittings as well. 

Volunteers are needed for the Bike Rodeo. To learn more and sign up, click here.