FLORENCE -- It was a bike safety lesson -- about keeping enough air in your tires, about making sure your brakes always work.
And about two cantaloupes.
The melons represented heads, little kids' heads. And the Florence police officers didn't hesitate to make their point, throwing one of the fruits on the ground, hard. It split open, showing the orange flesh inside.
"This is what happens to your head without a helmet," said Officer Bruce McVay. "OK?"
The kids nodded. They got the idea. So on went the helmets, and the bike rodeo was on.
The Monday event was part of the ongoing celebration of Boone County's bicentennial. Kids 4 and up were invited for the safety lesson and rodeo at Florence Lions Park.
Police officers from Florence and the Cincinnati - Northern Kentucky International Airport led older riders on a trip from the park to the airport. Others stayed in the park's parking lot, which became Kiddie Lane -- complete with stop signs and lots of little orange traffic cones to bicycle around.
The littlest biker, 3-year-old Austin Barnes-Waibel, hopped on his Road Beast and took to the course after his 7-year-old brother, Cody. He listened to Officer McVay's speech about safety and promptly told his grandmother she would need to check the air in his tires every day.
