The First Annual Avignon Children's Bike Classic
An Enjoyable Event Designed to Build Relationships
by Dale Fisher
Let's face it. It's sometimes difficult to build community relationships in our local neighborhoods. Progress is usually made in small steps. It will likely take time.
Our home is in the Avignon Homeowners Association. Marti and I have wanted to get to know our neighbors and build a sense of community with them. While doing so, we'd of course want to positively influence people toward Christ.
One idea I recently had was to get neighbor children to meet and play with one another, while bringing their parents out on our street to watch their children. As you'll see in the photos below, the parents would also get to know each other — new relationships could start or existing ones could grow stronger.
Here in Redlands, there's an annual bicycle race for professional and amateur male and female cyclists: the Redlands Bike Classic. Seeing how it brought people of all ages together, around a single event, I came up with an idea a few weeks ago: I'd organize the first annual Avignon Children's Bike Classic.
I set the date was set and gave personalized invitations to each neighborhood family with kids. Because one of these dads works in the paving business, he was quick to volunteer to provide road construction cones to lay out the course boundaries. He also chalked off the starting and ending lines and built two small bike ramps. I collected pine cones and plastic milk jugs for the event's slalom portion. Two mothers provided refreshments.
Children and parents invited . . . the course designed and assembled . . . we were ready to start the event. Participants were given colored event armbands . . . they had me fill their tires with air . . . then the fun began.
I thought it best to not describe this as "an event with winners and losers" but simply call it "a fun time," which the following photos will document.
Our first-ever Avignon Children's Bike Classic was indeed unique. It included a unique "bicycle croquet course" on a lawn; a cones-and-milk-jugs slalom; two small bike ramps to ride over; a challenging pine cone slalom on the protected street; and, lined up on the pavement were carefully placed water balloons that each participant attempted to pop by riding over them. On the spot, I got an idea to add another bike classic feature where each participant would carry three beanbags as they rode, dropping one in three collection buckets held by three dads. Finally, as the event ended, the children rode their bikes or scooters ride under a waterfall, compliments of a garden hose.
