On May 5, the Falcon Fire Protection District kicked off the annual Bicycle Safety Rodeo at Falcon Elementary School. Second grade students brought their bikes, scooters and roller blades to participate in the event, in its fourth year.Several firefighters set up orange cones and drew patterns on the parking lot asphalt with chalk.Firefighters talked about safety issues, including wearing properly fitted helmets. Kim Todd from the Memorial Hospital Trauma Center assisted the firefighters. “A helmet that doesn’t fit is no protection at all,” Todd said to one second-grade student. “It needs to fit no more than two fingers above your eyebrow.”Sixth graders at Falcon Elementary helped the young cyclists practice following the chalk lines, stopping their bikes at stop signs and maneuvering through cones and over curbs.The Penrose Hospital Flight for Life helicopter made an appearance as well.Firefighter Matt Gibbs, who organized the event, said the fire department will conduct two more bike rodeos: one at Meridian Ranch Elementary May 15 and another at Woodmen Hills Elementary May 20. “We really want to thank everyone who helped with this, especially Wal-Mart and Target who donated free helmets,” Gibbs said.
