Bike Rodeo June 3 designed for fun and education
The Wayne-Holmes Safe Communities Bike Rodeo will take place June 3 at the Holmes County District Public Library in Millersburg, in conjunction with the library’s summer reading kick-off event.
An upcoming rodeo in Millersburg will feature some riding. It won’t be on horseback, but rather on the seat of a bicycle with helmets affixed firmly on the head of all participants.
Wayne and Holmes Safe Communities will unite with the Holmes County District Public Library in promoting a bike rodeo on Saturday, June 3 from 5-7 p.m. at the Central Library on Glen Drive in Millersburg.
Along with the biking will come the message about how kids can ride safe, whether it’s on their driveway at home or on the road, with plenty of lessons about bicycle safety intertwined with games.
The event will feature a bicycle obstacle course, educational booths and story times and will run in conjunction with the Holmes County District Public Library summer reading kick-off event.
Safe Communities will give away free bicycle helmets while supplies last. Large helmets for the event were donated by American Association of Pediatrics’ Keep a Lid on it program, with small and medium helmets donated courtesy of Holmes-Wayne Electric Cooperative and Walmart.
“It is important to get the word out right now and educate the public on the dangers that exist on our roadways in our community for those on bikes, and especially for children,” Wayne-Holmes Safe Communities chairperson Beth McCready said. “Bicycle safety continues to be a major issue in our area with so many people riding both on the road and the trail. Our hope is that we can teach children and adults about the importance of following rules, of knowing the rules and understanding the dangers that exist, and at the same time, we want this event to be fun as well as educational.”
While there will be bicycles and helmets provided for riders, children and teens are invited to bring their bicycles and helmets to the library, where there will be an obstacle course for them to go through on their bikes. There will be a presentation from area law-enforcement members on bicycle safety, and people can ask questions.
“With the number of bike accidents and fatalities we have had in Holmes County, the idea of the bike rodeo was something we felt was very necessary,” McCready said. “The information we hope to share is valuable to our children, but it is also good for our adults to hear.”
McCready said one of the important components of this event is the educational part, noting there are rules of bicycling that aren’t just for the roads, but also for the Rails-to-Trails bikers, where so many walkers, bicyclers and buggies are traveling.
While the obstacle course will be plenty of fun for the kids, the accompanying topics of discussion will be equally important, considering the growing concerns over safety with E-bikes, which have created a whole new set of issues as more and more bicyclers have turned to the more powerful and faster E-bikes.
During the event there will be a raffle drawing for a new bicycle, and the library will present a selection of books, like the time-honored favorite “Curious George Learns to Ride a Bike.”
Parents are invited to bring their children with bicycles and helmets in tow and participate in this interactive and educational event.