ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) — Residents will be seeing more outdoor activity as the stateline warms up this summer, which includes riding bicycles.

May is “Bike Safety Month,” so the Rockford police officers gave a safety course on Saturday. It was the annual “Bike Rodeo,” where kids got to learn how to be safe while riding their bikes.

“You can be the best bike rider in the world, and you still never know what the other person’s going to do,” said parent Brandon Mather.

That is why he brought his kids to the “Bike Rodeo.”

“It’s always good that they get every lesson they can and teach them how to drive a bike a little bit better,” Mather said.

Kids got free helmets and a chance to win a bike, along with learning three simple signals to do while riding the course.

“You stick your arm straight out to show you’re turning left, you bend your elbow up like this to show that you’re turning right and then you just inverted to show that you’re stopping,” said Rockford Police Officer Aaron Murphy.

Murphy added that doing these signals can show the person behind what the biker is doing, hopefully preventing a crash.

“We, unfortunately, respond to a lot of people getting hit by bikes, and unfortunately, either their younger kid’s ways,” Murphy said. “So, we’re trying to teach the kids how to teach the person behind them, whether they’re turning left or right and stopping, and, so, maybe save a life or two.”

Mather said he is glad that the Rockford Police Department (RPD) wants to teach the city’s youth how to be safe and yet still have fun.

“Just the chance to get to interact with other kids, have a good time, learn a little bit and interact with the police came out. They had some ice cream and just had some fun on a good Saturday,” he said.

RPD plans to have another “Bike Rodeo” near the end of summer.