Teachers Sam Rabiola and Stuart Strecker bike to school

Teachers Sam Rabiola and Stuart Strecker bike to school every day

There are hundreds of ways to get to school, whether it’s driving, walking, or riding a bus. But there are two teachers who choose a different way. English teacher Sam Rabiola and spanish teacher Stuart Strecker have both been riding their bikes to school for many years.

These two teachers bike to school almost every morning, barring a few days of extreme weather. As for Rabiola, he marks his limit at a ten degree wind chill or heavy rain.

“It’s nice to know that I have a backup plan with my car in case it does end up getting too cold for me,” Rabiola said.

Rabiola started biking to school in 2013 as his kids graduated from high school, when he realized only ten minutes would be added to his commute. Meanwhile, Strecker began to ride a few years after the school opened, as he believes his method of transportation is beneficial to the environment.

“I’ve been biking here for around nineteen years, mainly because I think we can never do enough to help the environment.” Strecker said.

Both teachers find biking useful because they have zero hours, as it is much safer for them to ride in the morning when there are less cars on the road.

“I drive through that roundabout west of here, even if there are cars,” Rabiola said. “But I never go unless I can see the eyes of the driver.”

The only difference between the two teachers is whether or not they ride their bikes outside of the school year. Rabiola, while he admits he should ride more, only rides to school and back. Strecker is the exact opposite, as he uses his bike all summer, no matter where he’s going.

“My car barely gets any usage in the summer.” Strecker said.

One Strecker’s students, Zain Brittain, said that he believes that biking him a pleasant person and the class enjoyable in the morning.

“His class is just a very fun and a very welcome environment,” Brittain said. “I have a lot of fun in there.”

One of Rabiola’s students, Anna O’ Neil, feels that her teacher’s biking habits are somewhat abnormal, but understands why he chooses to use an alternate method of transportation.

“I think riding a bike to school might be a fun thing to do,” O’ Neil said. “It’s an interesting way to get to school. It’s not for me, but I can get while people might do it.”

Photographer: Maya Pavlyak; Designer: Emma Nelson