Bike Rodeo and Safety Check at Thirkill
The track outside Thirkill was a great practice zone.
Last week Thirkill’s PTO and volunteers from Itafos helped to put on a Bike Rodeo, designed to make sure that kids could get their bikes and safety gear checked out before the busy summer riding season starts, and to let them ride around school grounds with their friends and classmates before the school year officially comes to a close.
PTO's Amanda Larsen checking helmets.
The sessions began with Chris Gonzalez, who we recently spoke with about the city’s bike park, speaking to Thirkill’s third graders about safety issues related to riding. The classes discussed how to wear their equipment, how to ride on public roads, how to pay attention to traffic and exercise caution, how to use hand signals, and more.
Following the in-class instruction time, Gonzalez spent the afternoon checking tire pressure and brakes, adjusting helmets, and answering questions about all of the above.
Kate Lauck and Amanda Larsen from the PTO were also on site to direct traffic, so to speak, as were members of law enforcement and the Itafos team.
The PTO, along with Thirkill’s Summer Fullmer, had lined out the chalk track the evening before. A brief rainsquall had rendered all of that engineering moot, however, and the course was reassembled during the early morning so that it would be ready for a parade of eager riders.
Donations from Itafos have provided helmets and bikes for use, though most kids chose to bring their own equipment to school. This was an added bonus for those who did, as they were able to have skilled adults tune their bikes and double check their safety equipment.
The kids took turns following a serpentine course around the school grounds, and more than one mentioned that they would rather keep riding than go back to school, or even go home!
Officer Mumford, who serves as the District SRO, noted that summer was a time a lot of kids spend outdoors on their bikes, and that this summer the increased traffic on residential streets due to highway construction meant that extra caution was warranted.
Chris Gonzalez examines bikes before they are unleashed onto the track.
