Community Consolidated School District 181 is having students put in their time behind the handlebars before letting the rubber hit the road.

All seven elementary schools in the district are participating in the annual bike rodeos in the first few weeks of school, making sure the younger students are equipped to take on the responsibility of riding their bikes to school.

All third-graders must participate in the program to ride to school, according to the district. The PTO works in conjunction with local police departments and State Farm Insurance to certify each student after they pass through a series of fun obstacle courses to test their cycling skills.

Hinsdale police officer Michael Coughlin said along with walking the bikes across the street and riding one person per bike, the biggest thing is to make sure students wear their helmets.

“We ride police bikes, and we wear helmets to set an example for the little kids,” Coughlin said during The Lane’s bike rodeo Wednesday. “There’s always kids that say, ‘Hey where’s your helmet?’ so I always have to make sure I have mine on.”

From a safety video to bike and helmet inspections, the afternoon is filled with a variety of events to reinforce safety.

The Lane third-grader Chris Neveril said he enjoyed learning about turning and safety.

“It’s important to wear a helmet and look both ways for cars,” Chris said.

While the rodeo is primarily for third-graders and new fourth- and fifth-grade students, some of the older students and siblings attended to help set an example.

“It’s fun to ride your bike to school,” said The Lane fifth-grader Megan Draddy.

Courtney Willman, who has three children at The Lane and helped organize the event, said the rodeo is making sure children have the ability to ride their bike securely, and they focus on safety when doing it.

“I think the biggest thing is that they need to realize that it’s a privilege to be able to ride their bikes to school, that’s a big responsibility,” Willman said. “And then just to remember safety tips and to always put safety first.”