There’s no better way to learn than to have fun while doing it.
Rotary Club of Powell River is planning a family event that will give children a chance to have some fun, improve their bike riding safety and help parents feel more comfortable with their children riding bikes. Its Bike Rodeo is coming up from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday, May 4, at Powell River Recreation Complex.
Members of Powell River Cycling Association will be on hand to help teach road safety and bike maintenance.
Rotarian Greg Babcock, who has helped organize the event for the past five years, is helping to put it together again this year.
Children, from five to 12 years old, will ride their bikes through obstacle courses. “They’re graded on their performance,” said Babcock. “But, we’ll be pretty lenient.” Judges will have score sheets and deduct points from riders who put their feet down while making their way through the course. Judges will make allowances for age and experience levels.
Teaching road safety is an important component to the event. The cycling association will help volunteers teach fundamentals like using hand signals, making sure they are on the right side of the road and making sure that they can ride in a straight line when they’re on sidewalks.
One of the obstacle courses is a four-way intersection with stop signs, said Babcock. “We want to teach the kids cycling hand signals,” he said. “I know that the cycling association is quite up on that.”
Association members will show the children some biking skills and check to make sure that bike helmets fit correctly, that the chains on bikes are well oiled and there is enough air in tires.
Rotary’s goal is to have at least 100 participants in the free activity. It hopes that its poster, social media and word of mouth campaign will help bring families out to the event. Participants will have a chance to win one of three mountain bikes and a number of other bike-related door prizes like helmets, locks and other bike accessories.
To wind up the event, participants will have an ice cream treat, Babcock added.
