Dilkon holds first annual bike rodeo

Cordell T. Begay, age 4, of Teesto begins his ride on the bike safety course during the bike rodeo on June 19, 2007 in Dilkon (Courtesy photo)

Cordell T. Begay, age 4, of Teesto begins his ride on the bike safety course during the bike rodeo on June 19, 2007 in Dilkon (Courtesy photo)

DILKON-It was a fun day in the hot sun for the youth during the First Annual Bike Rodeo here next to the Dilkon Public Safety Building, but they didn't mind as they went through several stages to learn about riding a bike safely.

The Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project hosted the event for children from kindergarten to 18 years of age on June 19.

"The Bike Rodeo was a lot of fun for kids and parents with different activities throughout the day," said Genevieve Davis, Senior Community Health Worker, NNSDP. "The main focus of the bike rodeo was cycling safety for young cyclists and to encourage parents that bike safety is important for their children as they ride around in the community.  We had additional activities with the bike rodeo such as delivering newspaper, dummy roping, gunny sack race, and golf putting to make it fun for our children in the community."

Following registration, the first activity was the bike inspection to make sure that the kids had bikes that were fit to ride.  The next stage was receiving a free helmet and having them fitted properly before going to the warm-up pit which included stretching and loosening up and scanning of the course.  The course itself included safety tips for youngsters in riding a bike in the community such as Demon Driveway, Crazy Crossroads, Rock Dodge, and Off-Road Course.  Other activities from the bike included throwing a newspaper into a basket, roping a dummy steer, and pole bending.

There were educational booths from Navajo Nation Special Diabetes Project, Department of Behavioral Health Services, Winslow Indian Health Care Center (WIHCC) Public Health Nurses, WIHCC Health Promotion Disease Prevention, WIHCC Diabetes Program, Navajo Tribal Utility Authority, Navajo Housing Authority, and others.

Lunch was served to the youngsters and their parents before the final drawing was held for five bicycles.  The winners of the bicycles were Rose Marie Hononie (4) of Dilkon, Rochelle Nez (10) of Dilkon, Jeyrell Billie (3) of Greasewood, Terrance Begay (11) of Dilkon, and Guilevaldo Ruiz (13) from Teesto.  Christoff Keyonnie (8) of Teesto won a six-man tent and the bicycle repair kit went to Cordell T. Begay (4) from Teesto.

"We had a great turn out for our bike rodeo with over 150 people, either participating or watching the event," said Davis.  "I think the parents really enjoyed the festivities.  I know there were some out there helping their youngsters along the course and being involved from beginning to the end.  Our NNSDP staff did a great job along with our volunteers from the community, health programs from Navajo County to the Winslow Indian Health Care Center, and local organizations."

Davis said that they would like to see this happen for the youngsters every year and make it a fun day for the children of the Dilkon community.

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