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Big Wheel Keep On Turnin’ ... |
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by Jessica Wilson
The weather is getting warmer and that means it’s time to send the kids outdoors to play. For some kids that means playing baseball or going to the park. For others it means hopping on their bikes and going for a ride.
Students at one school in the St. Louis Public School District not only get a chance to ride their bikes, but learn about the area and themselves. The Dolphins Bicycle Club was started in 2002 by Compton Drew Investigative Learning Center Principal Andrea Walker, physical education instructor, Mimi Deem and Community Education Specialist, Joe Torrisi as a way to combat obesity in middle school students. Now it is about more than just getting into shape. It’s a learning adventure, complete with a yearly bike ride along the Katy Trail.
It’s not just about the riding bikes for these kids. Students take a bicycle education course in which they learn about bike safety and demonstrate that knowledge. They must also meet certain criteria off the bike path, such as regularly attending school, doing well in class and being respectful to their teachers and fellow students.
Many of the students that take part in the program come from less than ideal backgrounds so the club gives them a sense of belonging. It also keeps them out of the trouble they could find themselves in on the city streets. Co-founder Joe Torrisi says this gives kids an opportunity to be exposed to something they normally wouldn't get the chance to experience in the neighborhoods they grew up in. Torrisi observes that every year there are a few kids that join thinking they're going to get a free pass to goof around, but he says every year fewer and fewer troublemakers join the club.
Nearly 30 students are taking part in this year's club. The students ride ten to 12 miles a day, three days a week for three months. They do their training rides through Forest Park as they work up to the big ride along the Katy Trail.
The rides give students a chance to learn! They learn about the places through which they ride and learn about themselves as well as the importance of regular physical activity. Torrisi hopes the club will give the students a lifelong love of exercise, in addition to teaching them about meeting and setting goals and the importance of teamwork. He says teamwork is taught in many ways, such as making students wait for each other along the trail and that simple thing has helped teach the kids to look out for each other in other ways on and off the trail.
Every year the students take part in a two-day ride along the Katy Trail. Students and parent volunteers will ride, the first day, 45 miles from Sedalia to Booneville and then ride to Jefferson City on day two. There the kids get a chance to tour the State Capitol and meet with legislators. Torrisi says in past years the kids have been given a standing ovation from the senators and state representatives for accomplishing the ride.
This year’s ride along the Katy Trail is set for May 4 through 6.
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