Bike Rodeo

Yesterday afternoon we attended “The Tanner Jeans Memorial Bike Safety Rodeo” created & sponsored by a local family whose child was killed when he was hit by a car while riding his bike. Apparently this is the seventh year the event has been held. We contemplated riding our bikes to the event (seeing as how it was a “biking” event), but we weren’t sure we’d be able to pedal ourselves back up our hill to get home afterward.

We did bring our helmets though so our local police department could inspect them. Both Jason and Carly received outstanding praise for wearing their helmet snug and proper. I have been known to be a “car seat Nazi” and I’m just as strict about bike/scooter safety. Abigail’s helmet had a small crack in it so she was offered a new one of her choosing.

We hope to get back into doing more family bike rides now that Katie is old enough to sit in the bike trailer. They gave us the cutest little helmet for Katie.

Next year we’ll definitely bring our bikes with us. The police set up a large course to teach kids how to ride their bikes safely. They had crosswalks and roundabouts painted on the ground and stop signs at pretend intersections. The police took the kids through each scenario and taught them one-on-one how to ride safely. I was really impressed.

The entire event was free – including hot dogs, drinks, chips, and treats for lunch. Even the helmets were free - getting two nice, new helmets (and eating plenty of hot dogs and chips) prompted us to make a donation.

The kids each got t-shirts too.

While we were there the kids were also able to get their faces painted. The girls have had their face painted before but never like this. These gals (all dressed as clowns) were supreme face painters – the best of the best. The line was long but definitely worth the wait.

Abigail picked out one of the full-face designs

She looked awesome!

Carly went for something much more dainty, but also cute.

Jason was reluctant at first, but a super nice clown-painter sold him on the dinosaur design.

Jason sat very still while she worked her magic

She asked him what color he wanted the dinosaur and to our surprise he choose pink.

He was so happy with it that I think next year we’ll be able to convince him to get his full face done.

Our last activity before we left to get our exhausted baby (and Jason... and Daddy) down for a nap was the bouncy toys.

Awesome afternoon – we’re already looking forward to next year!