What is a Bike Rodeo? Can we do it ourselves?

Bike Rodeo is the term we use for a hands-on exercise using bikes and an obstacle course to teach kids the skills they need to safely stop and control their bikes. It can mean the bike handling lesson in the Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Program, or a stand-alone event held when kids are not in school by a variety of organizations such as fire departments, police, and non-profits dedicated to children’s safety or bicycle safety. They can be run without the Program Trailer, using kids’ own bikes, or the trailer can be scheduled for a rodeo when kids are not in school. Using the information supplied here, you can create a rodeo yourself.

Typical lay-outs:

Large. This one is for a weekend bike rodeo, where outdoor venue and more time permit the inclusion of more challenging and time-consuming elements such as the figure-eight and the "slow race", (a set of 3 foot-wide lanes permits several riders to start together and compete for the slowest time).

View the Large Rodeo Layout.

Small. This is a more typical layout for the in-class setting, where 25 kids line up to share 8-10 bikes and practice their bike control for about 30 minutes. In most cases, the whole class can get through the course twice in this amount of time.

View the Small Rodeo Layout.

Bike Rodeo Tips

There should be at least two adults managing the bike-riding part of the Bicycle Safety Lessons. If you are running it alone, limit the number of bikes to two or three and make riders wait, so that you can help each rider on the course.

Ask beforehand if there are non-riders who would rather help the riders by replacing knocked-over cones and reminding them to signal turns and stop for an imaginary cross street. These helpers should take part in helmet fitting with the rest of the class before the rodeo section, but not all kids are ready to ride the course.

Helmet Fitting- The helmet should fit level on the head, one or two finger widths above the eyebrows, tighten the headband, the chin straps should form a Y or V around each ear and should be fastened snugly with one finger width of space under the jaw.

Bike Inspection- ABC Spin check.

A= squeeze the tires and check for air,

B= push back on the pedals or squeeze the brakes and make sure they work,

C= make sure there is a chain, it is clean and working,

Spin= spin the wheels and make sure they do not rub on anything.

Dismounting and Remounting- This is the station where kids demonstrate whether they can ride bikes well enough to complete the course. It also serves to remind them of the location of the brakes, which differ on kids bikes. If you have kids who cannot ride well or at all and you are lucky enough to have enough help, it might be possible to teach bike riding in a separate area.

Weaving and Maneuvering- Control the bike around each cone, weaving in and out, not too fast, not too slow.

Straight Line Control- Control the bike in as straight a line as possible.  Another skill to practice at this station can be to look over the shoulder and identify which arm the instructor is holding up.

Stopping Ability and Crosswalk- Stop the bike before the stop bar, dismount, look both ways for traffic, walk the bike across the street and continue looking both ways.

Optional:

Slow speed- Practice riding slowly and balancing.

Small Turning Radius- Ride in a small figure 8.