Three Sisters School Hosts Bike Rodeo

On a blustery September morning, excited students wrangled their bikes to the first Three Sisters Adventist Christian School (TSACS) Bike Rodeo in Bend. In response to the North American Division’s Shape Up Day, held Sept. 22, Ruth Anderson, TSACS home and school leader, coordinated the event for all community kids and their parents.

Rodeo participants completed a rotation through four stations to test their agility, balance, knowledge of correct safety procedures and determination. Station One inspected all bikes to see that they met current bike safety requirements. After passing the safety inspection, rodeo participants rode to Station Two, where bikes were correctly fit for height and helmets properly adjusted.

Moving on to Station Three, bikers learned the rules of the road and had fun practicing hand turn signals. At Station Four, bikers were able to test their skills on a variety of fun and challenging obstacles. Can you stop your bike on a dime? Can you balance your bike on a straight line? How’s your aim and accuracy? Can you toss a newspaper into a bin like a real paperboy? Bikers got off-road action with a technical timed obstacle course — complete with balance beams, jumps, rocks, hills and thrills.

The fun was topped off by a memorable bike safety talk by Travis Littman, a trauma surgeon at Riverbend Hospital in Springfield, Ore. After watching Littman demonstrate what happens to a watermelon both with and without a bike helmet, the safety lesson hit home.

The festivities ended with a prize ceremony, rewarding bikers who excelled in various categories with prizes ranging from water bottles to gift cards for local bike shops. In all, thanks to the tireless efforts of Ruth Anderson and plenty of hearty volunteers, the first TSACS Bike Rodeo was a success.