BATON ROUGE -- Bicycles are a popular Christmas gift every year. On Saturday, Geaux Ride held a bike safety event at Fairview Baptist Church in Baton Rouge."Almost 2,500 bikes are given across the city, but there's not really a time or an atmosphere for kids and adults to come out and learn to ride ," Geaux Ride CEO Charles Daniel said.Biking groups from Baton Rouge, Baker, and Gonzales pitched in to teach skills like adjusting seat heights, putting on training wheels, and riding on the sidewalk or paths."There are so many kids who get bikes for Christmas. Adults get bikes for Christmas, but the best thing is to get them outside, active, and get them comfortable riding the bike," Daniel said.Organizers also informed parents on how they can best ensure that their kids are safe while riding a bike."The biggest thing is to make sure the height is right for your child, if it's too small or too big. You don't want to get a bike that they can grow into. You want to get a bike that fits them now so they can get comfortable and acclimated to riding," Daniel said.Several kids told WBRZ they want to ride their bikes more often now."When you get older, you might want to go bike riding with your friends, and if you haven't learned to ride a bike as a kid, you probably wouldn't know how to ride a bike as an adult," 10-year-old Skylar Jones said.15-year-old Laila Temple says she wants to continue helping teach kids to ride bikes in the future."This is a good opportunity for these kids today because when I was younger, I really didn't have the opportunity to really have someone help me ride a bike, so I taught myself," Temple said.Daniels also gave praise to the city of Baton Rouge for helping with the event."Giving away free helmets. We work with Mayor Sid Edwards' Office of Community Development, Carolyn Coleman, Terry Landry, as well as to donate helmets and get kids out here," Daniel said.Daniel also told WBRZ that Geaux Ride plans on having more of these events, possibly once a month, when they open a second location.Data suggests that bicycle injuries and fatalities have been a problem in Baton Rouge and the state.According to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, there were 35 bicycle fatalities and 749 bicycle injuries in Louisiana in 2023,Baton Rouge was designated a "focus city" by the Federal Highway Administration over a decade ago. That means the city has a high number of fatal pedestrian and bike crashes.A number of MOVEBR projects have included travel opportunities for cyclists and pedestrians, like bike lanes and bike paths. This includes the Sherwood Forest Blvd. multi-use path, which began construction this year.Permalink| Comments ...read more read less