We could rely on “the luck of the Irish” when our children are out on their bikes. Rather than relying on luck, Texas Bicycle Coalition believes that bicycle safety is achieved by educated adults sharing their safety knowledge with children. On St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, Brenda Chuleewah, local outreach coordinator for Wichita Falls, gave a bicycle safety demo to a group of children at the Central Boys and Girls Club.

The children enjoyed the interactive demo. They dropped the helmet head and observed that the egg inside did not break. They also shared their bicycle accident stories, which led to a discussion of how it could have been prevented. The Seven Texas Bicycle Laws were also discussed among the group. Each child had a law to read aloud, and then the group discussed the law.

Also present was Dennis Kays, Director of Programs; Rick Moore, Central Branch director and Ashley Buckmore, Education Director for the Boys and Girls Club of Wichita Falls. Chuleewah encouraged them to invite their youth leaders to attend a Texas SuperCyclist teacher training so they could encourage the children to bicycle and walk safely.

Courtney Collins from the local TV station was there to cover the story. Chuleewah talked about the goals of Texas Bicycle Coalition, to promote bicycle access, safety and education She explained the Texas SuperCyclist Curriculum, invited teachers and community youth leaders to be trained and asked for volunteers to help promote biking and walking to school.