Bike Rodeo: Safety Check and Skills Course
Students run a quick check on their bikes (air, brakes, chain) and then ride a station course that simulates city traffic situations: stopping, hand signals, slalom and shoulder checks. They work on bike handling and safe, eco-friendly ways of getting around.
How to play
- Quick ABC check in pairs (5 minutes): Air in the tires by squeezing them, Brakes that lock the wheel, Chain oiled and not loose, plus a properly buckled helmet.
- With bikes stopped, teach the hand signals (left turn, right turn and stop) and practice them in place. 3 minutes.
- Set up a course with 5 stations marked with chalk and cones: start and stop on a line, slow slalom, one-handed turn signal, shoulder check while riding straight and emergency stop.
- Groups of 5, one per station; each group spends 3 minutes at a station and rotates on the whistle. 15 minutes.
- At the stopping station, each rider tries to stop before a line from 10 yards at moderate speed without skidding.
- Final 4-minute ride linking all stations while a partner watches and notes one thing to improve.
Rules
- Helmet buckled any time you are on the bike.
- Moderate speed; no wheelies or skids.
- A bike that fails the brake check does not ride.
Variations
Easier
Wider stations and no shoulder-check station.
Standard
Five stations with signals, slalom and a stop from 10 yards.
Harder
Add a very slow balance station and a mock intersection with right-of-way rules.
Adaptations
- For students with limited mobility, use an adaptive trike or handcycle if the school has one; otherwise the student runs the mechanical check station.
- For students who are deaf or hard of hearing, rotations are signaled with a flag as well as the whistle.
- Students who cannot ride start in a separate area with the pedals off, pushing with their feet to build balance.
Learning goals
- Check the basic condition of a bike before riding.
- Handle a bike in situations that mimic city traffic.
- Value biking as a healthy, sustainable way to get around.
Equipment for a class of 25
- bikes: 25
- helmets: 25
- cones: 20
- chalk: 5
Teacher tip
Ask students to bring their bikes with advance notice and permission slips; keep a pump and an Allen wrench on hand.
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