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

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

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. In 1987, the organization ...

clubs originated the idea of teaching

bicycle safety A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. ...

to organized groups of children. They set up bicycle

lecture A lecture (from ) 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 information, history, background, theo ...

s which then became bicycle

seminars A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some part ...

. 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 Law enforcement organization, a constituted body of Law enforcement officer, people empowered by a State (polity), state with the aim of Law enforcement, enforcing the law and protecting the Public order policing, public order ...

Chief Rosanne M. Sizer of the

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

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 the educational institution (and, in the case of in-person learning, the building) designed to provide learning environments for the teaching of students, usually under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of ...

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 Scouting America is the largest scouting organization and one of the largest List of youth organizations, youth organizations in the United States, with over 1 million youth, including nearly 200,000 female participants. Founded as the Boy Sco ...

State Farm Insurance State Farm Insurance is a group of mutual insurance companies throughout the United States with corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Founded in 1922, it is the largest property, casualty and auto insurance provider in the United ...

, 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. Throughout the town there are real life situations such as

traffic lights Traffic lights, traffic signals, or stoplights – also known as robots in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia – are signaling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings, and other locations in order to control the flow o ...

stop sign A stop sign is a traffic sign designed to notify drivers that they must come to a complete stop and make sure the intersection (road), intersection (or level crossing, railroad crossing) is safely clear of vehicles and pedestrians before contin ...

pedestrians A pedestrian is a person traveling on foot, by wheelchair or with other mobility aids. Streets and roads often have a designated footpath for pedestrian traffic, called the ''sidewalk'' in North American English, the ''pavement'' in British Eng ...

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 protecti ...

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 (North American English) or tyre (Commonwealth 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 w ...

, checking to see that the brakes 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 ...

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 local bicycle shop might be giving away a

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () 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 m ...

light Light, visible light, or visible radiation is electromagnetic radiation that can be visual perception, perceived by the human eye. Visible light spans the visible spectrum and is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400– ...

for the bicycle. There might also be competitions 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