Venturing Ranger Elective - Cycling/Mountain Biking

To earn complete the Cycling/Mountain Biking elective for the Venturing Ranger award, Venturers must learn about maintaining a bicycle, safe riding, and trip planning. They must take several bike rides and share their knowledge with others.

Articles related to Cycling/Mountain Biking Ranger Elective

 

Bike Hike Safety and Etiquette   Before going on a bicycle ride with a group of Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, or Venturers, review some bike safety and etiquette rules. Includes a printable discussion aid.

 

Bicycle Helmet Fitting  This month I am focusing on cycling. Helmets are required for all BSA cycling activities. It is important to note that this applies to adults also. Your helmet isn't going to do you much good if it doesn't fit correctly. Here are some guidelines.

 

Bicycle Riding Log  For some cycling recogintions, Scouts must record the time or distance spent riding. A basic log sheet is located at the bottom of this post to help you complete this. If you really become interested in cycling, you might consider getting a simple bike computer to aid you in figuring out this data. These devices record the time spent riding, mileage, average speed, and more.

 

Powdered Sports Drink Recipe  Sports drinks like Gatorade or Power Aid are designed to replenish the water and salt your body loses when you are active or exercising. You can mix up your own powdered mix to accomplish this for a fraction of the cost of purchasing these drinks by the bottle.

 

Bike Inspection Checklist  Before riding a bike, Scouts should know how to do an inspection of the bicycle and check that it is in working order. The checklist below will give you a good starting point. You will need to explain each step to the Scouts so they learn the terminology and why each part is important.

 

Bike Repair Tips  This month I am focusing on cycling. If you are going to ride a bike, you'd better make sure it is in good repair first. You don't want to be riding along and have your front wheel fall off or your brakes not work. I found a great website called How To Fix Bikes which offers all sorts of advice on - drum roll... - how to fix bikes!

 

Tips for a Great Table Top Display  Table top displays are a way to show off a hobby, collection, event, or other project. Or you can showcase your unit's program. As part of the Hobbies Troop Program Feature for Boy Scouts, table top displays are used in a hobby fair to show of each Scout's particular hobby. In addition, for several of the Venturing awards, Venturers must create a table top display.

 

Cycling and Mountain Biking Ranger Elective  This month I am featuring posts related to cycling. Venturers can also receive recognition for their cycling knowledge and ablitiy. Cycling and Mountain Biking is one of the electives for the Venturing Ranger award.

 

BSA Methods - Teaching Others  The methods of Scouting are the ways that Scouting's aims of developing character, citizenship, and fitness in youth are achieved. One of the methods for Venturers is “teaching others”. Teaching others is the best way to really acquire deep knowledge of an area. By sharing their skills with others, Venturers retain their knowledge better and provide service to others

 

Cycling Theme  I am featuring a Bikes theme this month. This theme has lots of useful information for Cub Scouts, but much of it applies to Boy Scouts and Venturers also. Boy Scouts can use the aids you will see this month with the Cycling merit badge. And Venturers will find this information useful for the Cycling/Mountain Biking elective for the Ranger Award.

 

BSA Bike Safety Guidelines  BSA has a list of bike safety guidelines on the Scouting.org site. The guidelines and procedures apply to all BSA unit, council, and national program activities involving bicycling.