Summer My Way participants learned about bike safety this week and had the chance to put their skills to practice during a ride along the Indiana-Michigan River Valley trail Thursday.

The ride was led by Cycle-Re-Cycle, a nonprofit based in Benton Harbor that refurbishes donated bikes and promotes local cycling.

Tim Hurst, a former Niles High School teacher and volunteer for Cycle-Re-Cycle, commended the Niles-Buchanan YMCA for offering the free Summer My Way program, giving children the opportunity to learn and stay engaged during the summer. Approximately 250 children are participating in the program this summer.

For Hurst, the partnership between the YMCA and Cycle-Re-Cycle was an opportunity to exercise his passion for teaching through the program.

“It is fun to work with these kids here,” Hurst said. “I got a lot of hugs yesterday. That was great.”

Before strapping on their helmets and hopping on the trail Thursday, youth spent the day Wednesday learning about the importance of bike safety.

While wearing a helmet is key, children also learned the proper hand signals needed to safely travel along a trail or road. And if they get a flat tire, campers will now know just what to do. The youth practiced repairing a punctured tire Wednesday as part of the lesson.

Another key to riding safely is learning how to ride in one big group.

“Kids tend to ride all over the place,” Hurst said. “If you have five kids riding around and other bicyclists there is going to be trouble. [They learn] safety in a group and safety on the road.”

To successfully ride in a big group, Hurst said the children are taught to ride in single file and pay attention to the road ahead.

Ten-year-old Shelby Skalla was ready to put her skills to the test.

“The thing that I learned is all of the hand motions,” Skalla said. “[And] you have to wear a helmet all of the time.”

Skalla said she had never ridden along the Indiana-Michigan River Valley Trail and was excited to take in the scenery.

Through a grant from the Berrien Community Foundation, Cycle-Re-Cycle was able to purchase bikes for the Summer My Way program to use for the ride.

There were 16 children who signed up to participate this year. Each received a helmet and bike to borrow.

With ample scenery to take in across southwest Michigan, Hurst said Niles is a prime place to ride.

“You have got this wonderful trail in Niles, which is one of the best in the area,” Hurst said.

With helmets strapped on, leaders from the Cycle-Re-Cycle Program and the Summer My Way youth climbed aboard their bikes and started their ride south along the Indiana-Michigan River Valley Trail. The goal was to ride between four and five miles along the trail, Hurst said.

“We will wear them out,” Hurst said.

Cycle-Re-Cycle volunteer John Egelhaaf said he hopes that the youth also take away from the ride an appeal to a sense of adventure.

“I think they learn that they can ride much farther than they ever thought,” Egelhaaf said. “This opens up horizons for them that they never really thought about before.”