At the annual Health and Safety Bike Rodeo hosted by Central Valley Community Resources in conjunction with Riverbank Police Services, many local families turning out to attend the event came to learn more about riding bicycles safely while also entering the drawing to win bikes of their own. For more than a decade, the rodeo has been bringing families to downtown Riverbank to find resources on safe riding, bicycle registration and other items including appropriate personal protective equipment like helmets and other safety gear.
This year’s event was hosted on June 10.
“It is one of our favorite things to do and it is 100 percent for the community,” said Community Resource Deputy Jesse Tovar, who works with Central Valley Community Resources along with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department to coordinate events like this. Tovar explained that events such as this and others including Shop with a Cop, which pairs children with deputies that take them on a holiday shopping spree to purchase toys, warm winter clothing and other essentials, are what he and his colleagues enjoy so much about their job. The opportunity to interact and build relationships with the public is fundamental to performing their duties and Tovar said he appreciates the chance to get to know the people that he and the other deputies serve on a daily basis.
The bicycle rodeo course, which was operated by Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputies, took riders through a course filled with stop signs and simulated railroad crossings to teach youngsters more about how to ride safely and how to spot dangerous obstacles while riding. In addition to the rodeo, the drawing for new bicycles was a big hit. This year, 32 bikes were donated, 14 of them from the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office and 18 others donated from community members and various organizations. With more than 100 attendees at the event, many children entered the drawing and 32 of them went home with brand new bicycles. For the Ortiz family, whose daughter Cassandra won a bicycle, this event was filled with family fun and the chance to learn more about bicycle safety while also hearing her name drawn as a winner.
Darlene Barber-Martinez of the Central Valley Community Resources organization has been a driving force behind the bicycle rodeo and CVCR also is involved with a number of other community-focused events.
For more information, contact Barber-Martinez at: darlene@cvcr-ca.org
