CONCERNED LONG ISLAND MOUNTAIN BICYCLISTS
My Experience with
Trips for Kids-Metro New York
by Peter Rudolph
This story is about my experience volunteering for Trips for Kids. I had heard about the program, but didn’t know much about it. A couple weeks ago I was approached by a friend and fellow mountain biker to help lead a ride at Bethpage State Park. As he explained it, we would just be “taking kids out for a day of riding.” Little did I know what I was in for.
As the kids arrived I was a little nervous, and I could see that they were as well. We got them set up with helmets, gloves and name tags. The first smiles came when they re- ceived their own personal water bottle to keep. This also made me smile. We then gave instructions on safety and the operation of the bikes, such as how to shift the gears, use the brakes, etc.
Next, we fit them on the bikes one by one. As we fit each kid the excitement and nervousness grew again. Some of them seemed completely unable to ride. Once fitted, we started to get them to try and ride. Some took right off while others needed a lot of help. After 30 minutes of be- coming familiar with the bikes, it was time to hit the trails.
I would be leading the group with the help of several oth- er volunteers. We headed out on one of the easier sections to get the kids warmed up. Right away the first kid behind me, Ahmed, started asking questions: “How good are these bikes? How much does yours cost? How long have you been riding? Where do you ride?” We continued along and the kids improved with each turn of the wheel, learning to shift at the right time and how to tackle the terrain.
Riding with a lot of people makes for a slower ride, having to stop for others to catch up. Each time we stopped, Ahmed and another boy, Hamed, were right behind me. I could tell they wanted to let it rip and that they were strong riders. Ahmed and Hamed said they had never been on mountain bike trails before, but you could have fooled me. We rode for about an hour and then headed back for lunch.
After lunch we broke into groups, and I led a ride of the advanced riders which included Ahmed and Hamed of course. We rode some of the most challenging trails and as usual, Ahmed was right behind me. At one point he said,
“This is the best day I’ve had all summer!” He really loved it and couldn’t get enough, becoming a better rider with each challenge we encountered. At each stop, I taught them about trail etiquette, such as yielding to pedestrians and equestrians, how to read trail signs and safety, and Ahmed always had a lot of questions. His enthusiasm was amazing and contagious.
We rode for one and a half hours then returned to the group. The rest of the group was tired, but I could see that Ahmed wanted more. I asked him if he wanted to check out some really cool stuff and before I finished my sentence he was on his bike. We took off to hit the most challenging terrain in the park.
I took it nice and slow to make sure he was OK as we made our way to the top of one of the biggest hills. At the top we peered down one trail and I said “That trail looks scary, right?” and he said, “Let’s do it!” I asked if he was sure and he said he was, so down we went. At the bottom, he mentioned to me how he had seen this kind of riding on TV and couldn’t believe he just did it. We went on to ride everything in the park and he never fell once.
At the end of the day after everyone had returned, we gathered for cookies and to tell the group about our expe- riences that day. When it was Ahmed’s turn, he said how much fun he had riding with me, his new “riding buddy.” When it was my turn, I explained that after all my years of riding, I realized that I was not as good as I thought! That’s because of how he made all the trails look so easy when I always thought they were so hard.
After we had packed up and the kids were relaxing, Ahmed came over to me, shook my hand and gave me a hug and said, “Thank you, I’ll never forget you and this day as long as I live.” I was extremely touched to say the least. To think I had that much of an impact on someone was truly amazing.
TFK is a unique and rewarding experience, not only for the kids, but the volunteers as well. I look forward to vol- unteering again, but I will always remember that day and how it affected not only me, but Ahmed and all the kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment