Boulder Country Day teacher goes more than the extra mile

On May 18, BCD 3rd grade teacher, Amanda Demler, rode her bike 82 miles to visit all 12 of her students at home. She left her home at 7:00am and rode from house to house on a trip that included 7 hours of riding and 5 hours of socializing from a distance.

While her students know of her athletic abilities, when the idea of a bike ride to every single house first came up on a class Zoom meeting, they were unsure. "That is very far!," said Ryan Welch.

Demler, who has been a teacher at BCD for 16 year, says, "All of my students know that I have a passion for endurance sports. So I asked myself, why not?" As a 12-time competitor in Wisconsin's notorious Birkebeiner race, a 55K ski marathon, she has exemplified for her students what passion and commitment look like.

"This epic adventure was not only a way for me to see the smiles of my students and drop off a card and treats, but a way to show them that they too, can do great things to inspire even in the middle of a pandemic. No matter what storm you go through you should use your talents to pitch in and make things better for someone else," says Demler.