“This year has been the largest group in the history of the program,” Sgt. Joe Tedeschi said, of the Springfield Police Community Response Team. “This year within two days of posting online, both weeks were filled.”
Bike Camp allows riders to wind along the bike paths of Springfield, stopping for lunch and demonstrations from various city departments before saddling back up.
Helmets were provided by the Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordination Committee and Children’s Hospital of Dayton.
There was only one real requirement to participate on the rides.
“They had to be able to ride without training wheels,” Tedeschi said.
The riders were guided by five police officers, a parking patrol attendant, three members of the Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association and one member of the prosecutor’s office.
“What police officer wouldn’t want to be here instead of out there,” said Vernon Bass, of the Springfield Police Division.
Bass works as the School Resource Officer during the school year.
The schedule varied each day. On Thursday, the group started at 9 a.m. at Roosevelt Middle School then rode to a destination for lunch and to learn something new, then rode back to Roosevelt by 3 p.m.
The stops treated riders to various adventures. At Fire Station No. Five on Thursday, they got to see Springfield from up high in the aerial truck and got sprayed with a fire hose by Assistant Fire Chief Brian Miller. Within eight to ten minutes, Miller doused the kids with 500 gallons of water.
“Things like this are a good chance for community education,” Miller said with a smile.
On Friday, they biked down to Young’s Jersey Dairy.
The rainy weather didn’t seem to phase the riders. When asked about riding in the rain they only had one thing to say — it was awesome.
Food and drinks were provided by Speedway, Marriott, Lee’s Famous Recipe Chicken, Olive Garden, Eby-Brown, Cousin Vinny’s and the Citizen’s Police Academy Alumni Association.
“The program could not exist without the help of the people and businesses, it has lasted twenty-years,” Tedeschi said.
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