BY BRITTANY FHOLER
Cove Leader-Press
Wheels were turning and smiles were spreading at the Copperas Cove Parks and Recreation Department’s first-ever Adaptive Bike Rodeo held Saturday afternoon at Ogletree Gap Park.
The Adaptive Bike Rodeo is an event designed to give children of all abilities the opportunity to have a safe, structured space where they could learn or build upon the skills necessary for one of childhood’s most celebrated skills: riding a bicycle.
The idea took root during a town hall meeting with parents, according to Parks and Recreation Superintendent Caycee Hauck.
“The kids wanted somewhere to ride their bike safely, but learn how to do certain things,” Hauck said. “So I started looking at different towns and seeing what they do, and they said a bike rodeo.”
Hauck said she learned from Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Stoddard that the police department had hosted a bike rodeo years ago. This time, the Parks and Rec department tailored the concept specifically for adaptive youth, building a course with turtle lanes for balance, a four-way stop with signal practice, and zigzag cones for maneuvering.
“It’s a recreational life skill need for them that is assisting them,” Hauck said. “Some of them came out here not knowing how to ride a bike, and now they’re unstoppable.”
Among those participants was Alexander Miller, 10, who rode without training wheels for the very first time during the Bike Rodeo. His mother, Tanya Miller, said the moment was one she will not soon forget.
“Today was something that he needed to do and learn,” Tanya Miller said. “And all of his friends out here and him seeing them ride encouraged him to say, ‘Okay, I got to do this.’”
Miller said her family moved back to Texas in part to find inclusive programming for Alexander, who has autism spectrum disorder. She credited Hauck and Parks and Recreation with helping create an environment where her son could thrive.
“Caycee’s awesome. She’s like one of the kids,” Miller said. “She gets down on their level, and I think that’s what makes the program so good.”
The event drew support from several community partners, as well as city council members and KCCB volunteers, who were on hand throughout the day, along with Sun Country Cycling and Aron’s Mobile Bike Services, owned by Aron Heathcock. They provided on-site maintenance support for the bicycles.
Heathcock said nearly every bike that came through the course had the same issue regarding tires.
“Every bike that came through here was super low on tire pressure,” Heathcock said. “That causes a lot of extra drag. The number one thing that anybody, kids or adults, can do is keep your tire pressure topped off.”
The Copperas Cove Walmart donated two bikes to be raffled off as part of the Adaptive Bike Rodeo. The event also featured helmet fittings and more tips and tricks for bike riding safety.
“It’s more of getting them outside, getting them in an environment with their friends, learning the same thing, and maybe getting some tickets, because we’re running every stop sign we got, “ Hauck joked.
Hauck said the skills learned at the bike rodeo are designed to carry over into everyday life- from riding in the various city parks to cruising neighborhood streets with their family, all in a safe manner.
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