BATH

In Bath, students are expanding their education by getting out of the classroom and onto the trails.

As the school year wraps up, Bath Middle School teacher Lawrence Kovacs is winding down the first year of the Riding for Focus program, which sees students cycling around Bath daily under his supervision.

“My counsel when I got this was start small,” said Kovacs with a laugh. “I don’t feel like we started small, but it’s manageable. It’s sustainable.”

He launched the program last fall after receiving a grant from the Specialized Foundation that provided Bath Middle School with 25 bicycles.

“They’re high quality bikes,” Kovacs said. “These are $500-600 bikes, if you went to the bike shop and bought them retail.”

The foundation also provides a curriculum that incorporates cycling into students’ education, with the intention of improving fitness and social behavior. As part of the program, Kovacs takes two groups of students cycling daily: 21 students in the morning and nine in the afternoon.

“We do between two and five miles every day of the week,” he said. “This group has probably done about 75 miles … since late April.

“Obviously, it is something that makes people more fit,” he added. “When you do something consistently for weeks, 31 days of consistent aerobic exercise, it’s clear to see physical changes.”

The certainly felt true for eighth-grade student Adem Lair, who said he’s seen improvements over the last month. For instance, a hill that would have been a struggle a month ago is now easy to climb.

“I thought I wasn’t doing that much for activity,” Lair said, “so I signed up for track and biking.”

Though less obvious, the program also encourages good social behavior. While cycling may not seem as cooperative as a team sport like soccer, cyclists have to communicate with one another constantly on the trails. Sharing tools, equipment, placement in the line and more helps the students develop socially, said Kovacs.

“We all get along and have fun,” said Lair.

Kovacs called Bath Middle School the perfect campus to launch this program. Trails criss cross the school grounds, allowing him and his students to easily get onto the trail system and bike to new places instead of a monotonous circle.

“I couldn’t think of a better place,” said Kovacs. “If this were in a climate that didn’t freeze in the winter, that’s the only thing that could make it better.”

“I do biking practically as much as I can,” said eighth grader Lucas Martin. “I love biking.

“You get to do whatever you want,” he added. “You can go on more trails than you would with four wheelers or ATVs. There’s more freedom.”

Beyond cycling and learning the rules of cycling, Kovacs also teaches students how to care for and maintain their equipment.

When the equipment fails or breaks down in some way, he’s able to repair it or even teach the students to repair them. To that end, the Chewonki Foundation donated five bicycle repair stations that he and the students can use to maintain the bicycles and make any necessary fixes.

Kovacs said he plans to expand on that resource next year by offering bicycle repair classes during the winter months when riding becomes impossible.

Due to the limited number of bicycles and other factors, not everyone who wanted to take part could. When he first asked who was interested last fall, Kovacs said he had more than 80 students respond. He had to use a lottery system to determine who could join.

While there are no immediate plans for expansion, Kovacs said he’d like to see the bicycles used more. Last fall, the school also installed a pump track next to the Bath Youth Meetinghouse and Skatepark. Kovacs said that he’s currently working with the city to develop a skills course above the pump track.

“It’s stuff that’s high adventure, low consequence — challenging elements that if you fall it’s not going to hurt you,” he explained.

“I think the pump track is the funnest part of the whole thing,” said Martin. “I love the pump track.”

Kovacs said the school is committed to two years of the program as part of the grant, but he has no intention of pumping the brakes anytime soon.

“I have no intention of stopping this,” he said.