League’s Education Director leads bike rodeo

This past Saturday I celebrated Bike Month with 21 burgeoning bicyclists, nine enthusiastic adult volunteers and an attentive Montgomery County police officer. The Girl Scout Troop I help lead hosted a Bike Rodeo for Troop members and friends. We used the League’s Bicycling 123 curriculum, which I am certified to teach as a League Cycling Instructor. We had only one scraped knee (from an excited participant running to get on her bike) and over a thousand smiles throughout our two hours together. It was a fabulous event.

The afternoon was spent working our way through six bike safety stations, each teaching a valuable skill of bicycling. My favorite was having each child stop at a stop sign, put a foot down, and make eye contact with a simulated car driver. It taught the kids the importance of being seen as a cyclist. Even if you think you are seen while stopped, you should wait for that hand wave or a nod to confirm that the motorist sees you. There were other stations teaching balance, maintaining a straight line of travel, dodging an obstacle, looking behind you and more.

The officer from the Montgomery County Police Department talked with the children about being alert to your surroundings, always telling your parents about your whereabouts and the importance of wearing a bike helmet. Saint Mark Presbyterian Church donated the parking lot space where we held the class. Grassy islands in the parking lot provided for a fun bike track when the kids were let loose to coordinate passing other cyclists on their own.

Want to learn more about the League’s Smart Cycling curriculum to teach kids the joys and skills of bike safety? Check out our Smart Cycling program and how to become a League Cycling Instructor. The future of Smart Cycling could use you!

Alison Dewey is the League’s Education Director.