Safety, maintenance and more: School hosts fourth annual Bike Rodeo to ready pupils for summer riding

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Pupils got on the saddles of their bikes and rode to learn about safety and maintenance as part of an annual event at Anne Roberts Young Elementary School.

The school’s Bike Rodeo, dedicated to promoting proper bike etiquette and safety around bicycles, took place on the morning of May 23rd.

Donna Hedges, a teacher at the school, told Energeticcity.ca she has organized the event since 2022.

A primary motivation for putting on the Bike Rodeo was fostering “community connections” for older students and first responders.

Local firefighters and law enforcement officers from the Fort St. John RCMP were on hand, as well as parent volunteers.

Hedges estimated 300 children brought their bikes to the event.

“Underneath it all, a lot of kids don’t have a positive first interaction with the police or firefighters,” said Hedges. “[It’s] really important to me that especially our intermediate kids can find inspiration from that type of an interaction.”

Two groups of students were sent to different areas of the school: primary-aged children from kindergarten to grade three were in one area and intermediate pupils from grades four to six in another.

Stations focused on safety; maintenance, where students got their bike parts checked; and an obstacle course designed by the school’s leadership students.

New this year was a simulated car wash, where students could ride their bikes through to ‘clean’ their rides.

With warmer weather and summer around the corner, Hedges says there are more students riding their bikes to school. 

“We have a traffic circle by our school and frequently run into issues with vehicles not using the traffic circle properly [and] sometimes not stopping,” said Hedges.

 “We want the kids to be aware of how to use crosswalks, how to pay attention when crossing on the crosswalk and how to remember to walk across the crosswalk.”

The fourth-annual Bike Rodeo took place at Anne Roberts Young Elementary School at 8408 112th Avenue on Friday, May 23rd.