Bike Rodeos

Helmet Check. No child should participate in this program without a helmet. Once the child has a helmet that is the proper size, teach the easy three-step Eyes-Ears-Mouth process to make sure the helmet fits and is worn correctly every time.  

• Eyes: Put the helmet on the child's head and have him/her look up. The child should see the bottom rim of the helmet. The rim should be two fingers above the child's eyebrows and level on her head.
• Ears: Adjust the straps of the helmet so that they form a “V” right under each ear lobe. Make a “V” to measure with your index and middle fingers.
• Mouth: Once the straps are adjusted in a “V,” buckle them. They should be snug, but not too tight. Adjust until you can put one finger between the strap and the child's chin. Now, have the child open her mouth as wide as possible. She should feel the helmet hug her head and the strap should feel snug to her chin.

You can also watch the video below for a demonstration.

Bike Check.  Check the bike for fit and safety. Invite bicycle shop employees to help you, as well as local community members. Here are some options the bike check station can offer: 

• A child should be able to sit on the seat and touch both feet to the ground. As the child develops more confidence, the seat can be raised so that he or she can just touch the toes of both feet or only one foot to the ground. 
• Fill tires with air.
• Tighten all spokes and replace broken spokes.
• Adjust the handlebars and the seat. 
• Check brakes.
• Check/Tighten all screws, nuts and bolts on the bike frame.
• Check the chain to be sure it is secure. 
• Secure and clean the reflectors, mirrors and lights.

Start and Stop. Beginning riders practice starting and stopping. You can also adapt this into two separate stations, focusing one on getting into power pedal position and mounting the bike. The second one focuses on simple stops and starts.

• Children should learn to stop before entering a roadway.
• Demonstrate how to get started using the Power Pedal method. First, straddle the bicycle with both feet on the ground; do not sit on the seat. Then, raise the right pedal to the two o’clock position. This provides the power to start. Next, put your right foot on the pedal with your left foot still on the ground. Finally, push off with your left foot and at the same time, stand on the raised pedal; do not pedal after pushing off. Coast to a stop while standing on the pedal that has been pushed down.
• Teach them to look left, then right, then left again before proceeding.
• Remind them that driveways, sidewalks and crosswalks are potential danger zones.
• Practice starting and stopping over and over until it seems easy.

Watch the video for a demonstration.

Scanning. Teaches children to watch for traffic and practice looking left, right, and behind them while riding. They should be able to do this without swerving, stopping, or falling.  

• Have children ride straight and look back at you without swerving.
• Teach them that they must scan for traffic in front of and behind them.
• Teach them to scan before making a turn, or pulling out onto a street.

Hand Signals. Teach children the hand signals they should use to alert drivers to their actions:

• Left turn – extend your left arm out straight from your side.
• Right turn – extend your left arm out from your side, bent at a 90-degree angle at the elbow, hand pointing upward and the palm of your hand facing forward. Another option is to put your right arm out straight from your side.
• Stopping or slowing – extend your left arm out from your side, bent at a 90-degree angle at the elbow, hand pointing downward and the palm of your hand facing backward.

Watch this video for hand signal examples.

Demon Driveway. Teach participants to stop before they enter the roadway and look both ways to determine if it is safe before turning onto the street.

• Teach the participants to walk bicycles from the place where they are parked to the place where they will enter the street, such as from their garage to the end of the driveway.
• They should look left, right, left, and right for traffic, wait for there to be no traffic, then turn onto the street using a Power Pedal.
• Have them practice turning left and right into the street and going onto the correct side for their direction of travel.

Snail Pace.  See how slow you can ride with out putting a foot down or falling.  This is a station that focuses on control and balance.

• Set up a straight line.
• Set up a curvy line
• Have the participant try to ride first one the straight line, then on the curvy line as slowly as they can.