Ready...Set...SLOW! Slow??? That's right. The object of this race is to be the last one across the finish line.
The slow race is the culmination of the skills activities in the Safe Kids/Children's Safety Village Bicycle Rodeo. Participants must ride as slowly as they can without putting their feet on the ground. The point here is two-fold: slower riding is safer riding and skilled cyclists ride slower.
Other lessons of the day include properly fitting and wearing a helmet, scanning for traffic and hazards, practicing braking proficiency, and demonstrating swerving ability on the serpentine course.
Children participating in the program learn the power pedal position, better control of their bicycles, efficient stopping, hand signals, and how to look left...right...left before entering an intersection. They practice turning to look over their left shoulder for traffic. On the serpentine course, they weave through orange traffic cones to learn control when avoiding hazards.
While the average ride in this rodeo is much longer than 8 seconds, performances are still top-notch.
|