CCPD hosts annual Bike Rodeo

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

It was a wild morning on wheels as kids rolled out for the 2023 Bike Rodeo on Saturday, June 3.

Organized by the Charles City Police Department, the Dean and Kim Marzen Memorial Bike Rodeo gets kids ready for a summer of riding by providing an opportunity to get their bicycles registered and put through a safety check.

The kids also got to have fun, decorating their bikes and riding them through a safety course and a “bike wash” donated by Schueth ACE Hardware.

Along with handing out safety helmets, some lucky kids also won drawings for bicycles of their own thanks to donations from Theisens, CUSB and Quality Auto.

Refreshments for the event were donated by Hy-Vee, which provided cookies and water for the kids to fuel up on for their ride.

“The kids had a great time decorating their bikes to get them looking great for all the riding they will be doing this season,” said CCPD Administrative Assistant Elizabeth Knecht. “We are thankful to Officer Ollendick for putting this together, as well as the Charles City Police Officers, the volunteers from the Tuesday night bicycle club and the Charles City Lions Club that made this a great success.”