Bikes, trikes, scooters and helmets were everywhere Tuesday afternoon at Newhall Field as Bennington held its annual Bike Safety “Roadeo.” Sponsored by the Bennington Dodge Library, youngsters from ages 2 to 12 from the area joined in some fun learning about how to best ride their bikes on the roads of the town. Police Chief, Bret Sullivan and Fire Chief, Dave Foster talked to the children about the rules of the road and safety procedures and checked each rider’s helmet. Joe MacGregor of Bennington Garage inspected all the bikes for proper operation. Joe also walked the riders through a course of stops and goes, bumps, turns, intersections, cone zigzags and circle 8 “roads.” Each youngster then had an opportunity to ride through the complicated road layout. Some were able to negotiate the roads on their first try without errors but a few had to take a couple of tries to master course. State Representative, Jon Manley, served as a guide on the course to help riders who got befuddled as to where to turn next. All the youngsters had the chance to ride it as many times as they wanted to and they all rode through the course several times. Some of the riders were seriously intent on their focus to master the course while others tried to go as fast as they could. No matter how they chose to ride the course, they all eventually mastered it. Each of the riders received a certificate of completion of course safety and a medal. Coordinator of the Roadeo, Librarian, Leslie MacGregor said, “It’s great to see that it takes the village to help the children learn how to master their bikes safely on the roads.”
