A bicycle rodeo is a clinic to teach children the skills and precautions to

ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a 1998 comedy by Millicen ...

a bicycle safely.

Origin

In the United States,

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. Since 1987, the organizati ...

clubs originated the idea of teaching

bicycle safety Bicycle safety is the use of road traffic safety practices to reduce risk associated with cycling. Risk can be defined as the number of incidents occurring for a given amount of cycling. Some of this subject matter is hotly debated: for example ...

to organized groups of children. They set up bicycle

lecture A lecture (from Latin ''lēctūra'' “reading” ) is an oral presentation intended to present information or teach people about a particular subject, for example by a university or college teacher. Lectures are used to convey critical infor ...

s which then became bicycle seminars. Eventually, a more hands on approach was used to teach the children and the term bicycle rodeo was adopted. This name is much more attractive to children and helped the events to grow in popularity. In Denmark a similar concept called ''mobil cykelbanes'' (mobile bicycle playgrounds) was introduced about 2012.

Organizers

Bicycle rodeos are usually run by local police departments.

Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...

Chief Rosanne M. Sizer of the

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the list of cities in Oregon, largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, Columbia rivers, Portland is ...

Police Department said, "It's important that our children understand bicycle safety. This is an opportunity for area youth to learn important skills and in the process get to know some of our bicycle, traffic, and reserve officers." The Kiwanis clubs still run rodeos with the police departments. Others who run rodeos are

schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...

outdoor recreation Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activitie ...

companies, the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

, State Farm Insurance, and large bicycle shops or sporting goods stores.

Activities

Bicycle Rodeos are usually for the age group of 4–13 years old. The activities that are provided are suitable for each age so that no one is bored during the event. Each rodeo usually begins with a short lecture on bicycle safety and is then followed by a written

exam An examination (exam or evaluation) or test is an educational assessment intended to measure a test-taker's knowledge, skill, aptitude, physical fitness, or classification in many other topics (e.g., beliefs). A test may be administered verba ...

to test the child's knowledge of bicycle use. Each rodeo has some type of a road course; this is usually the children's favorite part of the entire day. Some rodeos have more funding which allows them to build a small town for the children to ride around in as if it were real. This small town is called

Safety Town Safety Town is a program for children that teaches safety lessons about fire, pedestrians/traffic, water, guns, and poisons/drugs. It is also the name given to a replica town created to instruct children about safety measures. The Safety Town pro ...

. Throughout the town there are real life situations such as

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – known also as robots in South Africa are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control flows of traffic. Traffic lights ...

, stop signs,

pedestrians A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, whether walking or running. In modern times, the term usually refers to someone walking on a road or pavement, but this was not the case historically. The meaning of pedestrian is displayed with ...

crossing the streets, and road intersections. The children learn to handle riding their bikes in this life like setting. Rodeos are a popular place for businesses to come and set up booths to sell bike related products and give away gifts to the children. Many times local radio stations will broadcast their shows live from the rodeo and provide music to add to the experience.

Eight stations

In a typical bicycle rodeo there are eight different stations with chalk courses that the children have to master in order to pass the course. The objective of each course is to make sure that each child knows how to operate his or her bike correctly. The stations are: mounting and dismounting the bicycle, changing direction and turning in circles, steering through tight spaces, weaving, having the ability to stop quickly, turning around, riding the bicycle very slowly while maintaining balance, and learning to maneuver tight turns.

Safety

Every Bicycle rodeo has a safety course. Most rodeos begin the course with the safety check for both the rider and the bicycle because it is very important. The safety check for the rider is the

helmet A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...

and bicycle fit. An ABC quick check is performed on the bicycle. The ABC quick check consists of checking for proper air in the

tires A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...

, checking to see that the

brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

work, and checking that the

chains A chain is a serial assembly of connected pieces, called links, typically made of metal, with an overall character similar to that of a rope in that it is flexible and curved in compression but linear, rigid, and load-bearing in tension. A c ...

are on properly. Sunday, 14 February 2021

Other activities

Bicycle rodeo vary in what they offer. There are always plenty of fun things to do. After each child is finished with the safety course they are free to go around to the different booths to check out what they have. There is usually plenty of food and free

prizes A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

. A local bicycle shop might be giving away a

bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 te ...

for the bicycle. There might also be

competitions Competition is a rivalry where two or more parties strive for a common goal which cannot be shared: where one's gain is the other's loss (an example of which is a zero-sum game). Competition can arise between entities such as organisms, indi ...

held where the children can show off their newly learned skills. Some of the competitions may involve racing. Whatever activities a bicycle rodeo may offer, you can be sure it will be a safe and fun filled day.

Notes

References

"Bicycle Rodeos".
Bicycling Life. Retrieved on June 29, 2008
"Bicycle Rodeo Information".
Safe Kids. Retrieved on June 29, 2008
"Safe Routes To School".
Retrieved June 29, 2008 {{refend Cycling safety