West Life: Bike To School Challenge Concludes

The sixth annual Bay Bike to School Challenge had another successful year, officials said after its recent conclusion.

Students at both schools logged a combined 28,257 miles on their bikes during the three-week program, which took place May 6-24. An average of 538 students at Bay Middle School biked each day of the challenge (a record-setting 66 percent of the school's enrollment).

Their bicycling also won prizes for the students, the schools and even the city. The main sponsors, Century Cycles bicycle store in Rocky River (www.centurycycles.com) and bicycle manufacturer Raleigh Bicycles (www.raleighamerica.com) teamed up to give away six grand prize Raleigh bicycles in Bay. Winners of the bicycles at Bay High School were sophomore Mandy Hoskins and freshman Marin Kirk. Senior Elyse Sopa was awarded the $1,000 Raleigh Bicycles Bike to School Challenge Scholarship.

At Bay Middle School, seventh-graders Emma Keane and Jessica Rychel won bicycles in the random grand prize drawing. Two additional Raleigh bicycles were awarded in the inaugural Bike to School Challenge Prose and Photography contests at Bay Middle School. Contest judges selected seventh-grader Chloe Roberts' prose entry and eighth-grader Bridge Murphy's photograph as the winners. Both students won a Raleigh bicycle and will have their work published in the July issue of The Great Lakes Courier (www.greatlakescourier.com).

Raleigh Bicycles awarded $500 to Bay High School, $1,000 to Bay Middle School and $2,000 to the city of Bay Village for bicycling improvements.

Bay Middle School's highest ride day during the challenge was May 8, when 634 students (77% of the school) bicycled - another new BTS record. At Bay High School, an average of 114 students per day biked, or 14% of the school.

In total during the three-week challenge, Bay middle and high school students biked the equivalent of the circumference of the Earth, officials said. They also took 9,783 round-trip bicycle rides to school.

The Bike to School T-shirt design contest was won by senior Cameron Meakins, whose winning design is featured on the front of the shirt given by Century Cycles to every student who biked to school four days during the challenge. A special prize was given to senior Joey Strunk, whose runner-up artwork in the T-shirt design contest was used by Century Cycles for this year's commemorative sticker.

For more information about the Bike to School Challenge and to see photos and videos, go to www.centurycycles.com/to/BTS or follow the program at www.facebook.com/BikeToSchoolChallenge.