Pedal Pushers: Kids Learn from Experts How to Bike Safely

Students at Maple Dale Middle School learned proper techniques and roadway etiquette Wednesday morning with the help of the Fox Point and Bayside Police Departments.

"Did you look both ways?" Bayside Police officer Jenny Smith asked one student. "What if a cat ran out and you didn't see it?"

Students were not only given a tuneup by volunteer Paul Makela of Wheel & Sprocket, but they were given lessons on how to signal for a turn, waiting for lights to change, and steering through an obstacle course.

Maple Dale fourth grade teacher Mary Hoffmann was out turning the shortened street light for students as they learned to properly signal for a left turn. Fox Point Police Sgt. Fran Ehler signaled kids to pass through the obstacle course where they hand to temporarily jump off their bikes and walk them through a raised wooden pallet.

Bayside Police dispatcher Todd Bolton directed kids through the cones, and around a circular part of the course.

Students were smiles all around, and some even offered to share their personal bikes with others who may not have had their own bikes.