24 Nov Heartfelt Student Thank You Notes Herald Another Successful Year of Kids Pedaling with a Purpose

Kids Pedaling with a Purpose Director Cindy Okerlund is irrepressible, as we all know. Her valuable program, and the energy, integrity, and enthusiasm behind it have changed so many kids’ lives, and likewise for some of her volunteers.

For students, it’s a day of genuine fun and interesting, active learning outside the classroom, a memorable field trip with kind people. (Check out some of these student thank you cards here, here, and here.)

But hopes dimmed after the spring ice storm. Trails were waylaid with fallen trees, and no one knew when they’d be passable again, let alone safe for school children.

In classic “Mother Bike” fashion, Cindy surveyed the situation, chalked up her losses, and charted a safe course forward.

That course culminated in a complete calendar of fall bike rides – rides that would’ve taken place last spring if not for the ice storm – for students who missed out as fourth graders (now fifth graders).

Her scramble to keep the program on track insured the kids got to take their eagerly anticipated rides – and safely. On multiple days throughout the spring and summer, Cindy toured the North Western State Trail between Spring Lake Park and Oden, carefully assessing its safety.

Even after the state officially reopened the trail, she continued pushing for more trail side debris clean up, insisting that kids need the extra room at the trail side because they’re still new to bicycling and could make mistakes.

Volunteers joined Cindy in removing the remaining branches left dangling after the ice storm.

Ultimately, all the efforts paid off as 13 fifth grade classes from seven Emmet County schools enjoyed their belated field trips.

The meticulous statistician in Cindy summed up 2025: “259 kids pedaled with us. 231 kids (87.8%) rode a bike on their own. 28 kids (12.2%) were accommodated on a tag-along, tandem, or side-by-side. We had 10 perfect weather days. And, last but not least, 60 volunteers rode, taught, and/or assisted in some way.”

Since its 2016 inception, Kids Pedaling with a purpose has served 2,672 students.