COCHRANE— The Kiwanis Club of Cochrane and Bike Cochrane are joining forces to bring a Free Bike Safety Day to the community.
Kiwanis Vice President Debbie White said it is exciting preparing a fun event for youth in the community. The hope is the Free Bike Safety Day will become a signature event for the club.
COVID-19 has been hard on children and families in the community because they cannot socialize with friends normally, do not have sports and cannot always attend school, she said.
“It’s been so hard on everybody,” White said. “We would really love to be able to do this and we want this to be an annual event.”
Free Bike Safety Day was originally planned for June 5, but will now take place on July 24 or Aug. 15 depending on COVID-19 public health measures.
As part of the celebrations, the event will mark the grand opening of the Bike Cochrane LaunchPad Flow Park.
During the event, youth will visit different stations to learn everything about bicycle safety.
When they first arrive, the youth will be broken into small socially distanced groups who visit different areas to learn about bike safety, have a safety inspection of their bike and helmet by technicians from Big Hill Cycle, visit a bike course where they can practice safety tips, visit the LaunchPad and receive a bike-themed goodie bag.
If a bike requires maintenance, they will receive a coupon to help with fixing the bike or purchasing a new helmet.
The Free Bike Safety Day will be capped at 100 youth participants to adhere to COVID-19 public health protocols. The capacity cap is subject to change based on public health measures.
All aspects of Free Bike Safety Day will be held outside. The children will be able to visit different stations set up in the Garmin parking lot throughout the day.
For parents, the Kiwanis Club has set up a special talk on how to maintain a child’s bike.
“If the parents want to, they can go to this little talk that will be held outside and learn about how they can do some basic maintenance on their child’s bike,” White said.
The Kiwanis Club has been carefully planning Bike Safety Day, and adhering to COVID-19 public health measures has been one of their chief concerns. They are carefully watching the numbers and working with the Town of Cochrane to ensure they are well within COVID-19 guidelines.
All attendees will also be required to wear a mask.
White added the Kiwanis Club is exploring alternative dates if they are unable to host the Free Bike Safety Day in June due to public health measures.
“We are really trying to make it a safe event,” White said.
The Kiwanis Club's spring hunt for used bikes to donate to youth in need has been a rousing success.
The club has surpassed its original goal of restoring 25 used bikes to donate to youth in the community. The club's bicycle recycling project is off to a busy start and has already distributed six bikes in the community.
The club has picked up and delivered 36 bikes to the recycler and has a waiting list for 15 bikes. At this time, they are unable to take any more used bikes.
To sign up for the event or to learn more about the Free Bike Safety Day visit the Kiwanis Club Facebook page.
