Week two of bike club for the students at Mendez Middle School means hitting the track to practice safety skills. Stopping, signaling, scanning, and communication are key when riding on the road, especially in a group. After re-teaching their instructors the 5 Steps to Fitting a Helmet, the kids at Mendez headed outside with their bikes to pump up the tires and check the brakes, chain, and drop. Starting in a line, we asked each of the students to ride up, yell, “stopping,” and come to a complete stop. After they mastered the art of right hand braking to a complete stop, we worked on signaling for left and right hand turns.
Finally, the group worked on one of the most important skills in bike safety, scanning. Scanning is when the rider looks over their left shoulder, and while maintaining a straight line, checks for cars approaching from behind. Once the skills were mastered, the students put their hard work to the test, riding along the track in perfect formation. Next week we hit the road and explore Austin via bike!
