Bike Safety Rodeo
Author: Matt Nelson
Bike Safety Rodeo 2025
Matt Nelson
The Rotary Club of Townsend and the Broadwater County Health Services sponsored a Bike Safety Rodeo for the children on Saturday, May 31st, at Heritage Park. At the same time, the Billings Clinic Townsend hosted a health fair along with the bike rodeo.
Ruby Taylor, the Public Health Director for Broadwater County, spoke, “Today is our annual Bike Safety Rodeo. We do this every year just to promote safety for the community. It is actually a grant requirement for us for the Maternal Child Health Block Grant for the state. This is our injury prevention program, our activity for the year. We teach the kids basic bike safety, with hand signals at the beginning. They show us they can use their hand signals appropriately. We have a train crossing with Jeanine Stone wearing a train costume; she is great. She shows them how to cross the railroad tracks, and appropriate etiquette for that, since we are so close to the railroad tracks.
We also have an obstacle dodge, where we put obstacles in the road and the kids are supposed to go around them. Also, in these lanes we wave a red stop sign, and a green go sign, where the kids are supposed to ride as slow as they possibly can go to work on balance and coordination.
A lot of this is just basic riding skills that we are trying to teach. We also give out free helmets to kids who need them, which we provide. We check the helmets to see that they are an appropriate size and in good condition.
We have received so many donations from community members, businesses, etc. Rotary is a huge help with volunteers and a $1200.00 donation every year. In addition, this year we received an abundance of community support, with at least $500 in donations and three of the six bikes we are giving away being donated by local businesses. This generosity has made it possible for us to have a bunch of door prizes as well. We very much want to thank all the people and organizations/businesses who have donated time, money, or other resources. It is really fun, and a lot of work, but something we really enjoy.”
Each rider started off at the north end of the park, on Pine Street, where Dan Mainwaring gave them instructions on hand signals, and then the kids maneuvered their way through zig-zag paths marked off with green paint, until they got to the Railroad Crossing Sign, which read, “Stop and Look before Crossing.” Jeanine Stone instructed the kids and blew a whistle that sounded like a train whistle as she walked down a designated painted area of the tracks. When the tracks were clear, the kids rode to the south end of the park on Pine Street, riding around the obstacles that Ruby mentioned, with somebody waving red and green flags for stop and go signals. Rotary members Steve Roy and Jeff Langlinais, as well as community member Ken Ulrich, repaired bikes or changed tires, as needed.
Our Bike winners are:
Finn Coker for the Blue 16-inch Child's bike (donated by Graymont)
Ava Chischillie for the Purple 16-inch Child's bike
Max Lowey for the Green 20-inch Child's bike and Helmet (Donated by Hollow Top Heating and Cooling)
Collins Cartwright for the Purple 20-inch Child's bike and Helmet (Donated by Hollow Top Heating and Cooling)
Rieley Flynn for the 24-inch Teal Cruiser
Canton Cartwright for the Blue 24-inch Mountain Bike
Special thanks go to the participating adults. All the kids had fun learning bicycle safety.
Article Images
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PhotoCredit: Matt Nelson
Image 1 Caption: Dan Mainwaring taught the kids proper hand signals for turning and stopping.
Photo Credits: Matt Nelson
Image 2 Caption: Jeanine Stone wore a train costume and used a train whistle to get the kids to stop for trains.
Photo Credits: Matt Nelson
