This Monday, Room six and I had an experience we’ve never experienced before. After a few moments at the beginning of the day, the two instructors came into Room 6 and they introduced themselves. Their names are Kate and Kyla, and they were from Auckland Transport, going around schools like mine to teach students bicycle safety and how to manoeuvre a bike using gears.
Kate and Kyla first taught us how to wear proper gear like fluorescent bright clothes and proper shoes that protect our feet. Kate and Kyla also taught us how to check if there are cracks in our helmets and to check if the four S’s are not damaged. The four S’s are the shell, straps, styrofoam and stickers. The sticker tells you if it’s a suitable helmet for cycling.
After that, we lined up along the fence, from shortest to tallest. Then we got our bicycles that suited everyone. After that, Kate and Kyla taught us to use the: ‘ABCD and Q check.’ The A stands for Air, B stands for Brakes, C stands for Chain and control, D stands for Drop Test and Q stands for quick release.
After we checked our bicycles, the people who didn’t know how to ride a bicycle went with Kate and the people who knew how to ride a bicycle went with Kyla. I went with Kyla. Then Kyla taught us to keep two fingers on the brakes and slowly and gently press the brakes when we need to stop.
After that, we went and practised manoeuvering the bicycle while slowly pressing the brakes. Then, we practised doing turning and stop signs with our arms. After all of that, we also learned how to use the gears. Then we tested the gears while pedaling because otherwise they will break. The most favourite part I enjoyed is testing the gears.
