SANDPOINT — Braving the autumn chill, students from Farmin Stidwell Elementary grabbed their helmets and rode on the season’s first Bike Bus.

The brigade of bikes follows a now expanded route throughout town, starting by Super 1 Foods, winding over to Pine Street Park before heading to Farmin Stidwell. Led by teachers Tim Kerrigan and Mac Hollan, the ride picks up more eager students along the route. 

"They enjoy bonding with the other kids, riding with the teachers is cool, especially for the littles. Those who have shown up really enjoy it,” Kerrigan said. “We’re getting even more excitement this year and so we increased our route.” 

The Bike Bus will continue running every Friday morning through the end of October, Kerrigan said. The duo are both avid bikers, who see the event as a unique way to encourage the students to find a love of biking.  

“If we could do it every day we would,” Kerrigan said. “We’re trying to promote, fun, health, and kids getting exercise in the morning has proven that it really helps settle them down and focus.” 

Hollan is a part of the Pend Oreille Pedalers, a local cycling group, which has helped provide bikes for the Bike Bus in the past. The local community and area are just one aspect that Kerrigan said keeps him passionate about the program. 

"We live in a small town, biking is awesome,” Kerrigan said. “Kids getting around town, the independence so they can go to a friend's house or the beach. This is the perfect place for biking.” 

The idea of bikes providing kids independence is one that Kerrigan calls on from his own childhood. He remembers when biking was one of the only ways he could get around as a kid, and he loves to ignite that love for biking in his students. 

That love is reflected in his curriculum as well. Alongside the Bike Bus, Kerrigan teaches all incoming kindergartners at the school how to ride a Strider bike with attachable pedals 

“It allows so much freedom for youth,” Kerrigan said. “To see them excited about biking in any form or fashion, it makes me happy. Mac, too, he’s crazy about bikes.” 

Kerrigan and Hollan began the program toward the end of the 2024 school year and received glowing feedback after their seven rides last year. They got the idea after a fellow teacher, Renee Lorden, showed them a video of similar programs in Oregon and on the East Coast. 

"We thought it was amazing,” Kerrigan recalled about the beginning of the Bike Bus. “The [students] are enjoying it, you know we had couple of sixth grades show up and realize they may have been a little too cool for school, but they still did it and secretly, they had fun.” 

This year, one of those sixth graders joining the ride will be Kerrigan’s daughter who he said rides her bike to school with him often. He said that one of his favorite parts of the ride is seeing students' bond with each other and their parents. 

“I love getting out there, seeing kids having fun riding their bikes,” Kerrigan said. “It’s a good way to get parents involved too, bond with the kids, get exercise and promote biking because this is a biking town.” 

While this season of the Bike Bus will run through the end of October, Kerrigan said that he and Hollan are already planning to bring it back in the spring. 

    Riders pause at a stop along the Farmin Stidwell Bike Bus' route.