Bike Barn and Specialized team to support Blue Ridge Bike Rodeo

Wednesday, Blue Ridge Elementary teacher Cheryl Thonney invited her brothers Kevin and Andrew Thonney from the Bicycle Barn to Blue Ridge for the annual Bike Rodeo. Students learned the basics of bicycle maintenance, safety rules of the road and techniques to improve their skills. This year Kevin was able to secure a grant through Specialized for 50 youth helmets. This allowed all students to be properly fitted with brightly colored new helmets. Students were able to ride to Jefferson Park thanks to an escort from local police and firefighters.

“Some had never ridden prior to today, but all students were off of training wheels by the end of the day,” Cheryl Thonney said. “People in the community made this event possible by providing bikes for students to borrow or offering their time to work with the students on safety and riding skills.”