Turn off the screens – OPP Bike Rodeo
Saturday morning, Turn off the Screens Week fun continued in Manitouwadge with a Bike Rodeo sponsored by the Ontario Provincial Police, Manitouwadge Leisure Services and the Thunder Bay District Health Unit. The rec centre auditorium was packed with young bikers, eager to show off their knowledge of bicycle safety, and be entered into draws for some GREAT prizes, among these a new Norco Bike.
Many volunteers, Health Nurse Jackie Jung representing the host of Turn off the Screens week the Thunder Bay District Health Unit and approximately a half dozen uniformed police officers; worked like a well oiled machine to keep the rodeo running smoothly. I had not previously attended the yearly event, and was very impressed with it’s scale. The arena was transformed into a circuit of 8 stations, each with their own mock roadway scenario stationed by volunteers & OPP officers reviewing with riders the safety particulars of each scenario. One station for example, required bikers to demonstarte the hand signals required to stop or make turns while riding in traffic. As participants completed each of the stations, supervisors checked off the child’s success level on a sheet recieved upon entering the arena and kept by participants, or their accompanying adult, after completion of the circuit to be used as a reference to help assess children’s level of competence when riding their bicycles on roadways and identify areas, particularly in regards to safety, in which each could possibly improve.
The safety circuit’s final station was a bicycle helmet inspection, manned by Health Nurse, Jackie Jung and two volunteers. The volunteers assisted children & parents in adjusting their bicycle helmets, before Jung took a final look at the fit and condition of helmets, explaining to each participant and his/her guardian the importance of regularly inspecting helmets for damage and discarding any helmet involved in a fall or dropped onto a hard surface. Although helmets are mandatory for all cyclist under the age of 18, in Ontario, events such as this weekend’s bike rodeo are indespensible to law enforcement officials in spreading the message of bicycle safety for all ages.
As for my Emeraude, she was very excited to attend; Lloyd & I helped her decorate her bike (complete with new dice tire caps that Grandmaman & Grandpapa had given in her birthday bag full of treats) and then she & I were off to the Rec. She rode her bike a little, following behind Blake at the 1st station but afterwards mostly walked her bike through the stations. No matter, she enjoyed herself and is still proudly revising the hand signals she learned.
