She Needed a Bike. Southwest Harbor’s Community Made Sure She Got One. At the almost-annual Bike Rodeo, police, Lions Club members, local businesses, and emergency responders came together to help local kids ride safer—and look out for one another.
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She Needed a Bike. Southwest Harbor’s Community Made Sure She Got One.

At the almost-annual Bike Rodeo, police, Lions Club members, local businesses, and emergency responders came together to help local kids ride safer—and look out for one another.

Carrie Jones and Shaun Farrar

Aug 26, 2026

A young girl wearing a pink helmet and a white shirt with flower designs is focused on riding a bike, while an adult supports her from the side.

The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by Viridian Law.

Logo of Viridian Law featuring stylized mountain peaks and the text 'VIRIDIAN LAW'.

BAR HARBOR—Southwest Harbor Police Sergeant Rick Graham smiled and leaned over, Saturday, August 22. His voice had a hushed joy to it as he explained that the Lions Club had just given a girl a bike. Not the raffle winning bike. Another one. For a kid who wanted one.

“Right there,” he said, head tilting toward the girl who was shyly waiting as Bob Shields, the owner of Southwest Cycle, made sure the bike was fine tuned and perfect.

It wasn’t quite the right size, Shields decided.

They grabbed another one and made sure it was perfect as other kids rode between the orange cones laid out in front of the Southwest Harbor town office and emergency services building.

An adult man inspects a bicycle while another man, wearing a police uniform, observes. A third man, dressed in a yellow vest with a lion emblem, stands nearby, all in an outdoor setting.
A young boy wearing a purple helmet rides a bicycle with a focused expression, dressed in a red t-shirt and shorts, on a paved surface with cars in the background.
A police officer is handing a pink helmet to a girl wearing a pink outfit, while another young girl in a white shirt looks on. They are surrounded by boxes of helmets in a community setting.
An individual repairing a blue mountain bike in a parking lot. The bike is elevated on a stand while the person adjusts the rear wheel. Orange traffic cones are visible in the background.

One boy, Allan, had a tumble, but Russell Clark from the Lions Club rushed over, reached out, and helped Allan back up and got him on the road again.

“Don’t forget your water bottle,” Allan’s mom, Tanya Hanke, called.

Allan scrambled over to where the water bottle had rolled away.

When he turned back around toward his bike, Clark was still there waiting, holding the bike up for him. They both smiled at each other. Allan hopped on and then he was off again, cruising around the cones.

A young boy in a blue helmet is riding a bicycle around traffic cones in a parking lot.
A young boy wearing a blue helmet and colorful shirt squatting next to a fallen bicycle on a pavement.
An older man in a yellow vest assists a young child wearing a bike helmet and colorful shirt at a cycling event, next to traffic cones.
A man wearing a Lions Club vest assists a young girl in putting on a pink helmet while her mother supports her from behind. They are at a cycling event with boxes of helmets and cycling gear in the background.

Nearby, the girl who was getting a new bike for free was having a helmet fitting by Sgt. Graham with an assist from mom.

Beyond them, helmets were handed out, knee pads were wrapped around legs, cones were zig-zagged around.

Just about twenty-five helmets or so were given out to keep the young cyclists safer during the Southwest Harbor Bike Rodeo. Kneepads were there too. Food and talk and laughter filled the air.

A young boy wearing a blue helmet rides a small bike with joy, surrounded by orange traffic cones and orange marker cones on a paved surface.
A community event scene with adults and children gathered near tables, some working on bicycles while others socialize in the background, surrounded by greenery.
A person adjusting the rear wheel of a blue mountain bike at a bike maintenance station, surrounded by orange traffic cones and other cyclists in the background.

In Maine, bicyclists under 16 are required to wear helmets. Sometimes, those, that’s cost prohibitive for families who are trying to get by.

Bike rodeos are about safety. They’re about getting some riding skills. But the Lions Club members Clark and club secretary Weston Porter, Bob Shields, and Sgt. Graham know it’s more than that.

They are about community, about helping each other, and helping each other’s kids out.

The emergency personnel combined with businesses combined with the Lions Club, a service organization to create something that was bigger than a bike rodeo. It was a lesson in generosity on multiple levels. People gave time. People gave skills. People gave helmets and pads and even a bike.

But they also showed the kids who attended what it means to give and have fun and then give some more.

The effort between Southwest Harbor Police Department, the Lions Club, Southwest Cycle, Acadia Chamber members who donated to a raffle, and Southwest Harbor/Tremont Ambulance Service was meant to help kids be safer on their bikes and scooters, but it was also meant to help bring a community even closer together, the way it has during similar rodeos throughout the last few years.

Photos and video: Carrie Jones/Shaun Farrar/BHS

LINKS TO LEARN MORE

A child riding a bike through a cone obstacle course in a parking lot, with cars parked nearby and trees in the background.

Southwest Harbor Cycle

Acadia Chamber

Lions Club

Southwest Harbor Tremont Ambulance Service

Southwest Harbor Police Department

QUICK NOTE

We posted a lot more photos on our Facebook, which you can see here.

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