Bike Rodeo

One of the best activities we've had all summer was our bike rodeo today.

I found a bike rodeo for cub scouts on the on the internet.  Click here for a link to print a PDF of the rodeo.

Equipment Needed:

• Sidewalk chalk
• Tape Measure
• String or yarn 60 feet long
• Large empty parking lot
• Cones or 2-liter pop bottles (optional but helpful)

Preparation:

Before the boys come, go to the parking lot and draw the rodeo tracks on the parking lot with the chalk.  It is helpful to have one or two other people help set it up.

Bike Rodeo:

After opening ceremonies, we discussed bike safety rules.  To make this a little more engaging, we played the repeat game.  The first boy identified a rule.  The second boy said the first rule and then identified a rule.  The third boy repeated the first two rules in order and then came up with his own rule.  If you have a boy with learning disabilities, be sure to start with him so that he won't have to remember all the rules but can still play the game.

Next I had all the boys stand next to their bikes and we identified things they should check often on their bikes to make sure they were in good working condition.

                brakes  *  tire pressure  *  spokes  *  reflective lights  *  seat  *  chain  *  light  *  pedals

The rodeo itself was a lot of fun.  We only had eight boys, so we did each station at the same time.  The boys waited in single file until it was their turn.  We had enough time to go through each station twice.  We didn't do every station on the list, but we did enough to pass of the requirements for Bear Achievement 14c.  These are the stations we did:

#1  Mount and Dismount.  We drew two straight lines 60 feet long about 3 feet apart.  This was a great warm up to get the boys used to staying in the lines.

#5  Stopping.  We used the same track for the stopping ability.  Just draw a line 10 feet from the end where the boys are to start their emergency stop.

#2  Figure eight.  This was tricky for the boys and most of them didn't stay within the figure 8, but they could at least follow a winding path.

#3 Diminishing Course.  Instead of a diminishing track, we ended up with just a narrow track.

#4 Weaving.  We started with 2-liter pop bottles as cones.  But the bottles were empty and the wind kept knocking them over.  So we drew an X on the ground instead of the bottles and the boys tried to weave in between the X's.

#8  Turns.  We didn't do the tight turns as shown on the diagram, but the boys all did sharp right and left turns to pass of the achievement.

The skills of the boys were varied.  Some were much better than others.  We emphasized that the effort was important and put little emphasis on the actual feat itself.