Ready to ride

MOSES LAKE — Young riders will have a chance to show their cycling chops, get their bikes repaired and maybe even go home with a bike at the annual BARGAS event Saturday. 

BARGAS stands for Bicycle, Activities, Repairs, Giveaways, And Skills, according to organizers, and is a three-way partnership between the Kiwanis Club of Moses Lake, the Moses Lake Trail Planning Team and the City of Moses Lake. 

The centerpiece of the event is an obstacle course, where riders can test their skills at turning, coasting, stopping and avoiding obstacles.  

“One thing new on the skills course this year is that they’re going to try to stop on a dime,” said Kiwanian Louis Logan, who organizes the event every year. It’s a literal dime, taped to the pavement, he said. Last year’s course included things like a newspaper toss, where riders tried to throw a rolled-up newspaper into a box as they rode past. That will return this year as well, Logan said. 

Bikes that need minor work like flat tire repair can get some attention at BARGAS as well. 

“I think I have seven people set up this year for doing bike repair,” Logan said. “That's probably one of the main things we do for the city because a lot of kids have bikes and they're just sitting around because nobody knows how to fix a flat tire.” 

In addition, there will be drawings to give away bikes. The giveaways include a few grownup-sized bikes, Logan said. 

“We have seven 26-inch adult bikes,” Logan said. “We have seven beginning bikes with training wheels, and we have two trikes to give away, one of them brand-new.” 

Some of the bikes are also brand-new, Logan said; the rest are gently used. 

The organizers will also distribute free helmets donated by the Grant County Health District, according to information from the committee. Attendees will also be able to explore a Grant Transit Authority bus, decorate their bikes and trikes, read bicycle-related stories and make little bikes out of pipe cleaners, according to the committee. Ice cream will be supplied by Sweet Streets ice cream truck from Ephrata. 

BARGAS will be held in the parking lot at Larson Heights Elementary from 10 a.m. to noon, Logan said. Last year’s was held at the Larson Rec Center and attracted about 100 youngsters, Logan said, adding that all children must be accompanied by an adult.  

“We try to go to different neighborhoods,” Logan said. “What I want most of all is to get these bikes out to the kids that just really need bikes by going to them instead of expecting that they can come to us.” 

    A volunteer demonstrates some maintenance for a bike owner at a previous BARGAS event. This year’s event is Saturday at Larson Heights Elementary School
  

    Richard Teals, a member of the Moses Lake Trail Planning Team and one of the organizers of the bike rodeo, fits Lydia Michie with a new bicycle helmet at last year’s BARGAS event. This year’s event is Saturday and will be held at Larson Heights Elementary School.