I participated in a Cub Scout Bike Rodeo last night.
It was a great event.
There were probably 12-15 kids who participated. And a lot of parents, grandparents, etc. were in attendance, which was heartening.
Every kid had a brain-bucket on. (One kid had his on backwards, until somebody clued him in.) Most of 'em were on BMX-type bicycles of various quality levels. One poor kid was on a bigger 26" "mountain bike" he hadn't quite grown into yet, and was barely in control much of the time. One kid was on a tricycle. (?) Yep - a tiny little toddler-size tricycle.
These kids need some training and practice. It was surprising how many of 'em just put their feet down and drag, to slow down. (Don't they understand, or trust, brakes?)
We started off with a short safety lecture by Lyndon, one of my Boy Scouts. He did a good job.
And then they went to the various "rodeo stations" - a "stop, signal, turn, and go" course ... a couple of "stay inside the lines" obstacle courses ... and a mile ride (7 loops around the perimeter of the church parking lot).
The kid on the trike was having fun. The various courses were marked with low-profile red "cones," and he was standing on the back of his trike, doing a "wheelie" over the cones, so they'd pass between the back wheels.
They finished off with a safety quiz and cookies.
Hopefully some of the information they got will be retained. It will be interesting to see how much gas costs, when those 8- and 9-year-olds are adults.
Tireless advocate for the most efficient form of
human transportation ever devised - bicycles!
2 comments:
(Previous comment rife with spelling errors, I just couldn't let it stand!)
I'm still working with my son (5 years old) to break his "foot stop" habit. He's getting better, but he reverts to it in panic mode. If he loses control & starts toward a bush or something, he forgets his brakes and just puts his feet down, usually sliding into the bush. I think it's leftover from pre-cycling, when feet where solidly attached and you trusted them. It takes awhile to learn to trust and efficiently use the bike brakes.
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