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Show Youth Tlay It Safe' In 4-H Bike Program CHICAGO - Playing C.iub Bay is a good way lo have "fun on wheels." For the half million hoys and girls in the national 4-11 bicycle program, the game also is a means of gaining the skills and coordination coordin-ation necessary for sale hike il riving. Grah Hag is a cycling version ver-sion of the old favorite Musical Musi-cal Chairs. It's only one of (he many educational activities activi-ties 4-11 members take part in to increase their bike handling han-dling competencies, master hike care and maintenance, and develop concerned safety attitudes. As they "learn by doing," 4-H'ers in The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company-sponsored program discover bicycling bi-cycling is healthy exercise and an inexpensive, energy-conserving energy-conserving mode of transportation. transpor-tation. And they find opportunities oppor-tunities to use their bikes in community service projects like hazard hunts and bike-a-thons. The 4-1 1 bicycle program is conducted by the Cooperative Coopera-tive Fxtension Service in all 50 states. Awards are donated by Goodyear and are arranged ar-ranged and announced by the National 4-11 Service Committee. Commit-tee. Safety is stressed Fncouraging youth lo study and obey traffic laws and local bicycle ordinances is a major objective of the program. The National Safety Council Coun-cil estimates that 100 million bicycles will be in use by the end of 1975 15 million more-than more-than last year. The growing number of bikes, combined with the council's warning that four out of five peda.l-cycle peda.l-cycle accidents occur because cyclists do not obey trafl.'ic laws, has accented the need to teach young people that the bicycle is a vehicle-i.nd one that is subject to die rules of the road. Thus, emphasis em-phasis is on "bicycle driving" rather than simply riding. One of the most popular methods 4-II'ers have found for promoting safe bicycle driving is the "talking bicycle." bi-cycle." This electric-powered bike toots its horn nedals its rear wheel, turns on its light, iind responds to questions 'join delighted young audiences-all with the help of someone behind the scenes who operates the control box and carries on a dialogue with the police officer or other safety expert onstage. 4-H'ers serve community The hazard hunt provides an exercise in safety skills and, at the same time, benefits bene-fits the community. 4-H'ers take a riding tour of the neighborhood looking for safety hazards, then get together to-gether lo talk about possible ways of eliminating them-. In another service project, last year 300 4-H'ers from six Indiana counties staged a bike-a-thon for the benefit of the Indiana 4-1 1 Foundation. They covered the 100-mile round trip between Lebanon and West Lafayette with pledges from sponsors to donate a specific amount of money per mile ridden. Incentives offered For outstanding achievement achieve-ment Goodyear provides a series of awards in the 4-H r. m4 bicycle program, and also encourages en-courages older program members mem-bers in leadership roles. This year, the company offers a maximum of four gold medals of honor to 4-H members from 9 to 19 in each county. Junior and teen leaders in the program vie for state, sectional and national awards. One 4-H'er in each state receives re-ceives a $50 U.S. Savings Bond. 18 sectional winners, chosen from among the state winners, receive expense-paid trips to the 54th National 4-H Congress, Nov. 30-Dec. 4, in Chicago. Six of the sectional winners win-ners will get S800 college scholarships. Winners are chosen by the Extension Service on the basis of their record books. More information on the 4-H bicycle program is available avail-able from county extension agents. Safety, fun and responsibility are stressed in ihe national 4-H bicycle program involving a half million young bike drivers, 9-19. The popular program also recognizes teen leadership accomplishments through awards provided by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.' |