The day started very early for several of the volunteers. There was a lot to be done before the kids arrived at the park. And there was no doubt that it was going to be a hot, humid, Houston day. The day started with a lot of smiles as additional volunteers arrived and saw the staging area. Keith pulled the racing trailer, filled with the bikes, with his motor home. The bikes were all lined up in rows. Two of our “in-house” mechanics, Rob Brown & Mike Winkler, at their bike stands under the awning. They work hard to make sure the bikes were fine tuned for the kids. As additional volunteers arrived the clinic really started to take shape. The road course and slalom was being laid out by Dan Raine, Mike Frye & Jerry Gruss. June Frye & I took on the task of riding the “mini-trail” to remove any fallen debris and mark any areas that might be tough areas for the kids. We were all under the watchful eye of several curious kids.

Once the community center was opened up the preparation for the classroom session and lunch started taking shape also. There were several volunteers from the Parks Department and the Park Advisory Council there to work with us. The Parks Department put up a display on all of their programs, HCFCD provided a display of the Hill @ Sims Bayou plans and Katheryn Nicols from National Park Service brought a nice display and assisted us with the program. Soon the kids started arriving and the day was off to a running start.The clinic started with a classroom session in which, they were taught about bicycle safety by Dan Raine with the assistance of Cynthia Stewart and Angela Kirke. They watched videos, were asked questions and given demonstrations. The egg drop had the most impact of all information that was provided or shown. An egg was placed in a plastic baggy and another inside a Styrofoam head that was then placed inside a helmet. One kid would drop the egg in the baggy and the other the egg in the helmet. The demonstration was great at getting the kids to understand how much a helmet can protect your head. After the classroom session the kids were brought out to the road coarse where they learned the rules of the road such as hand signals, looking both was and how to use the brakes and not their feet. They were then fitted with their helmets and bikes. There were 30 kids, so this was no small feat. A picture was taken of the kids, which they will receive a copy. Then they were broken into groups with the instructors to ride the road course. Then it was off to the slalom course to learn about turning and controlling their speed. At the end of the slalom they were lead into the soccer field and then up the hill to the entrance to the “mini-trail”. The instructors then explained to them how to climb and descend a hill. The groups took off one at a time, making their way to the “hill” and then back to the trail head. The downhill section was tricky but the kids did really well. Most of the kids had big smiles on their faces and were saying that it was awesome and asking to go again and again. It was a great feeling to have the kids ask if you would ride with them again. Not only did they want to ride again but also, they really wanted us to go with them. I know for me it was a great feeling. One little girl would only ride in front of me and her friend had to be in front of her. I had been riding sweep, helping her when she would fall and giving words of encouragement. At one point she was a good bit in front of me, stopped, looked at me and said, “Are you coming with me?” I was hooked. I think the only reason we got the kids off the bikes was because it was lunchtime. The volunteers were very ready for food and some shade. Sure glad we had that awning on the motor home. We shared our stories of the morning and refueled. It was obvious we were going to need it for the second group. Several of the kids came back out to sit with us as we finished eating. Before we knew it here came the second group. It was smaller, only 20 kids this time. Things went much smoother, we were pros at fitting helmets and bikes after doing the 30 in the morning. The results were the same as in the morning, lots of kids smiling and asking to go again. The last reward of the day for the volunteers was seeing the group of kids waving and yelling thank you at us as they went to catch the bus home. It was a day of all smiles from the kids to the volunteers and one to not soon be forgotten.

Thank you again to all who volunteered. The first Houston Sprockids clinic was a success because of your efforts!

Article by Mason Lerner in the Houston Chronicle here