Ruff Riders.

Paul and I sometimes talk about what we would've thought of each other had we met at a different time in life - mostly, had we met in High School. I always say that I would've been intimated by his popular, football lineman, tough guy self. I'm sure he would've been confused or embarrassed by my tuba playing, anti first kiss self, but maybe would still think lacrosse was cool. Overall, we are lucky we met when we met, because who knows!

But today Paul recovered a newspaper article from his high school days, and, I think I just might have had a  crush on this "Ruff Rider". I think this is a pretty cool thing that he and some friends did. It's always rewarding to feel like you've done something significant that has made a impact. I'm proud of this high school Paul!

Also, I think we can conclude that, although his enthusiasm has become quite extreme lately, he's always been a bike-loving and earth-saving dude. I'm a fan.

(Paul is on the far right, unfortunately he wasn't riding the Powder Puff the day the photo was taken, the Banana seat is a good choice too though.)

Robert Bower / Post Register Skyline High School students are fighting back - by riding their bikes instead of driving expensive gas guzzlers. Several dozen Ruff Rider students staged a protest Wednesday by pedaling their way to lunch spots on Skyline Drive and Broadway Avenue in Idaho Falls. The students say riding a bike also is good exercise and Earth-friendly.

Skyline High School student Eric Davis was sick of paying high gas prices - so he gave up driving and took up biking. Along with students Paul Frandsen, Chris Beard, Brady Hodges, Bracken Hodges and Derek Grinnell, he formed "The Ruff Riders."

Their uniform for the past week has been a white T-shirt with the motto "Screw Gas; Bike Fast!" splayed across it. In protest of high gas prices, they have been biking everywhere and plan on continuing to do so in the summer.

Since he picked up his bike a week ago, Davis has driven only when he has left town. He bikes to any place in town. There have been days, he estimates, when he has biked 25 miles.

The group's members see biking as not only a way to save money but also a way to help the environment and keep them active, Frandsen said.

Teacher K.C. Jones inspired the group. Jones teaches a combination field science and English class. In the class, Jones said, he teaches conservation ethics and he and his students talk about environmental issues. Though Jones didn't help them come up with the idea, the students said his class made them think about what they could do to help the environment.

"Mr. Jones has definitely made us ecologically conscious," Frandsen said.

The fact that the students were even thinking about what he teaches in class made Jones happy.

"As a teacher, you can test knowledge, but you never know if you are having an impact until students try to do something with that information," he said. "Even if it was a combination of things including the high gas prices, this movement is proof that they do care about the environment."

On Wednesday, the bike rack in front of Skyline was packed with a hodgepodge of bikes. There were streamers, horns, banana seats and baskets jumbled in the pile. The Ruff Riders have been recruiting for their cause.

The group made an announcement over Skyline's intercom at the beginning of the week and asked students to ride with them. On Wednesday, they estimated that about 30 students had joined them.

Kylee Cooper joined the group Tuesday.

"It really helps when someone leads the way," Cooper said. "When there are a lot of people doing it, you don't feel so weird riding your bike to school. Plus, it's definitely a lot more fun than driving."

Reporter Kelsey Dayton