BATH

RSU 1 has received two grants that will increase cycling opportunities at Bath Middle School, with one providing the school with 25 mountain bikes and the other helping to create a new pump track at the school.

BMS is one of 20 recipients of a nationwide grant from the Specialized Bike Company that will give the school 25 mountain bikes. Lawrence Kovacs, a teacher at BMS, said he first heard about the grant from a friend back in February.

“I read it, and was like, ‘What? That is a good fit for Bath,’” said Kovacs. “Physically, we’re right in the middle of some excellent mountain biking. There are trails that literally go across the Bath Middle School campus.”

Along with the bikes, the school also received guidance on how to incorporate cycling into students’ education.

“Part of that is also a curriculum that is written by the Phys. Ed. Department at Central Michigan University,” said Kovacs. “The model is to use cycling to improve kids success in fitness, in social situations and in academic situations.”

The Specialized Foundation flew Kovacs to California for a day symposium during the summer to fully immerse himself in the curriculum, which will help students who have never even ridden a bicycle before enjoy them.

As part of that grant, the school will be collecting anonymous data to study the relation between cycling and improvements in mood, performance and attitude, noted Kovacs. Pulse rates, teacher observations and mood assessments from students are part of the initial data set being collected.

One of the long-term goals of the grant is to have cycling included with P.E., though that won’t happen at BMS immediately. Initially, a cycling program will begin during school hours with a select group of students during CREW time. Of the 25 students involved, 20 will be selected via lottery. Faculty will also choose students who they believe “need this experience to find success at school,” said Kovacs, to fill the remaining five slots.

In addition to using the bikes on the trails and the pump track, Kovacs said students could be involved in volunteer trail maintenance and repair around Bath.

In future semesters, Kovacs hopes the program can be expanded into afternoon sessions during school hours as well as extracurricular sessions so that more students can be included.

The pump track

In addition to that grant, Kovacs applied for a grant with the Bicycle Coalition of Maine to create a pump track next to the school and Bath Skatepark.

A pump track is a short, dirt loop with humps and banked curves that allow cyclists to move around the track without pedaling.

On Sunday, the coalition announced that they were awarding RSU 1 a Bike Maine grant of $2,705 to construct the loop. Kovacs said he is still meeting with city officials to figure out what requirements they need to meet in order to build the track, but if no civil engineering plan is necessary, grant funding could cover the entire cost of building the track.

Kovacs said he expects student labor to help build and shape the track, and the Specialized Foundation has offered to fly in experts from California to help with design and construction.

The bikes are expected to arrive in late September, said Kovacs, which will allow the school to start the program briefly this fall.

Helping out

• LAWRENCE KOVACS
said that several local
organizations are working
to make the cycling plans
a reality at BMS. Here’s a
list of groups that have
helped:
The Specialized Foundation Center Street Cycles
Bath Cycle and Ski
Brunswick Landing
YMCA
BMS PE teachers
BMS Principal Brandon
Ward
BMS teachers/riders
KELT
Bicycle Coalition of
Maine
Members of the Bath
mountain biking community City of Bath
Bath Skatepark
Bath Bike and Pedestrian Committee
Midcoast Medical Group
Chewonki Foundation