Nothing says summertime fun like kids hopping on their bikes and pedalling until the sun goes down.

The local Kiwanis Club and Bike Cochrane have partnered up for a Bike Safety Day to help keep kids in the community stay as safe as possible while riding their bikes around town.

Kiwanis Club President, Ron Gosselin says they were hoping to hold the bike safety event leading into the summer, but COVID restrictions threw a wrench in their plans.

Now, as the province shifts back to the pre-pandemic days, a new date has been set, which not so coincidentally falls in line with the official grand opening of the LaunchPad.

"We've now rescheduled for July 24 between 10 in the morning and two in the afternoon," says Gosselin. "We will have a maximum of 100 kids that will be divided into four hourly groups of 25."

The bike safety event is open for kids age four to 14, and all kids must be accompanied by a parent. Gosselin says they'll start the event by inspecting all bikes and equipment.

"Their helmet and bike will be inspected and if there's a problem they're going to be given a coupon for a minor tune-up and a gift card to Walmart to get a new helmet if it's required," says Gosselin.

The Cochrane RCMP will be there to do a bike safety presentation, and then the participants will have a chance to practice on the bike course in the Garmin Parkinglot before riding around the LaunchPad.

Gosselin says that there will be some extremely useful information for parents too.

"For the parents, we're going to offer a presentation on how to do basic maintenance for their kids' bikes."  If you're unsure how to fix a bike chain or change a bike tire, this event is for you.

The bike safety day is an extension of the spring bike recycling program which was held in late March. The Kiwanis Club gathered used bikes from community donations, and they had them tuned up and brought to safety standards to be enjoyed by local kids in need.

Registration is now open and can be done through Eventbrite.