KILAUEA — Kilauea School students got an opportunity to learn more about their bicycles as well as hone their riding and handling skills in a bicycle rodeo held Tuesday morning. Coordinated by George Mones of American Medical Response, the program
KILAUEA — Kilauea School students got an opportunity to learn more about their bicycles as well as hone their riding and handling skills in a bicycle rodeo held Tuesday morning.
Coordinated by George Mones of American Medical Response, the program involved the participation of several key community agencies working together to provide the students with a full agenda on bicycles.
Kaua’i Police Department officers from the Traffic Safety Division addressed the students on safety while riding to set the stage, keeping the “talking part” to about 20 minutes before moving the students on to the Tech area where Bike Doktor John Sargent got help from Kaua’i Fire Department personnel in checking over the students’ bikes.
The corrosive nature of the Northshore air showed itself as Sargent’s prime area of attention was the oiling of bicycle chains with several bicycles requiring attention to their brakes, which were binding within their cable casings.
Helmet fitting is a key to bicycle safety, and Moana Ta’a, coordinator of the Keiki Injury Prevention Coalition, got help from more firefighters in making sure each student’s helmet fit properly.
The road course, which to students was the most exciting part of the roundup, featured no cones this year.
KPD Sgt. Mark Scribner recycled used tennis balls from the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa into more user-friendly course markers, the idea coming to him after attending a mainland seminar.
The halved tennis balls are used to mark the course that some students said “was the coolest thing.”
Some of the skills tests required the rider to demonstrate their mastery of negotiating turns, stopping, dismounting, and having a mastery of their bicycle.
Successful completion of the course earned the student a certificate of achievement that Ta’a said will be dropped off to the school at a later date.
An additional facet of the rodeo was Andy the Ambulance, the remote-controlled “talking and blinking” vehicle, who kept students occupied between the different stages.
More paramedics were on hand to distribute bicycle safety workbooks as well as a workbook from AMR.
