Bicycle
Skills Obstacle Courses - a.k.a. "Rodeos"
Beginner
Course | Street-Wise Course
 Rodeos are obstacle
courses which youth ride through on bicycles to learn
and practice traffic and handling skills. The rodeos are designed to be educational AND fun and include a variety of drills and games. Bike Smart! rodeos are held at schools and community youth organizations.
School Rodeos
The majority of Bike Smart! rodeos take place at schools during the regular school day and often occur in PE or health classes, but this is not a requirement. The rodeos are preceded by a pre-rodeo in-class Bicycle Street Skills Presentation, usually about 1 week before. School rodeos are offered for students in 4th-12th grade. At a given school, Bike Smart! typically works with classes all within the same grade, as opposed to multiple grades. Generally a one and a half hour time block is needed per class for the rodeo. Raffle drawings
for bike gear (locks, gloves, bells, etc.) may
be held afterwards. Completion of rodeo provides each student with a free raffle ticket. For more information, see the description of the Street-Wise
Course below.
Bike Smart! also occasionally holds a rodeo which is open to the general public for the youngest and least experienced bicyclists, typically 4-7 years old. For more information, see the description of the Beginner Bicyclist
Course below.
Street-Wise Course
The Street-Wise course, for 4th-12th grades, focuses on essential bicycling skills for safely sharing the road with automobiles.
Activities and Targeted Skills:
- Helmet fit check
- Obeying traffic laws, i.e. stopping at red
lights and stop signs
- Hand signals
- Shoulder check
- "Rock Dodge" - avoiding obstacles in one's path
- "Slow Race" - practice balancing at slow speeds
- Emergency stop
- “A,B,C Quick” bicycle safety check
- How to safely make a left turn
- Slalom - steering control
- Teeter-totter - steering control
- Basic bicycle maintenance
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Beginner Bicyclist Course
The Beginner Bicyclist Course focuses on basic bicycle
handling and traffic skills for the youngest
and least experienced riders. Before riding in the course,
kids’ helmets are checked for proper fit and
their
bicycles are checked for safety by a bicycle mechanic. Upon completion of the rodeo,
participants may receive a certificate of completion
and a “goodie” bag
with bicycle safety pamphlets and prizes.
Activities and Targeted Skills:
- Meaning of signs and signals
- Watching for cars backing
out of driveways when riding on sidewalk
- Safely crossing intersections – looking four directions
for motorists
- Looking left-right-left
for automobiles before entering street from
driveway
- Making eye contact with
drivers
- Walking bike across railroad
tracks and looking left-right-left for trains
- Starting and stopping
- Slalom - steering control
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