CITY KIDS TACKLE A “BIG RIDE” by Susan Weaver Trip is full of first-time adventures for the Pittsburgh Nine hances are Anthony Pipkin was the only assistant principal in the Ccountry last year to put a station- ary bike in his office and have students pedal it while he did paperwork and took phone calls. These kids from a Pittsburgh public school called Helen S. Faison Arts Academy weren’t in trouble. They had been chosen to participate in the Greenway Sojourn, a mass ride that would take 500 cyclists from 34 states off-road from Washinton, DC, to Pittsburgh. The eight-day ride would enter the city near their school. So the tour’s organizers, Rails-to- Conservancy (RTC), had offered to host 10 students, ages 10 and 11, and their mentors on the Sojourn’s second half. The Faison group would camp out with the other riders and cycle about 100 miles on the — a rail- that runs from Cumberland, , to the Steel City. The invitation came late in the school year. By the time Pipkin — or Mr. P., as the kids call him — had selected 10 fifth- graders from among 60 eager volunteers and gotten parents’ permission, it was May. The Sojourn was at the end of June, and the kids had to be ready to pedal 30 miles a day — more than any of them had ever ridden before. Some worried they might not make it. “It’s gonna be hard,” Johnny Spell said of the challenge. Some didn’t even have working bicycles. There would be organized training rides in June once the new bikes — promised as part of the invitation — arrived. But

Morning ritual. Bikes come off the truck and the kids are ready to roll. Pipkin knew that wasn’t enough. A cyclist War, a conflict in which key battles had Rite of Passage hammer, they split open pieces of marine himself, he quickly put the stationary bike occurred in their hometown of Pittsburgh. The big test came the next day. After a limestone that had been formed under the in his office and brought kids in one by As the weather turned hot and steamy, 16-mile excursion with other Sojourners sea “over 300 million years ago,” as he told one during recess and some classes. They they did a 10-mile ride on the wooded and on the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad them. They exclaimed over the revealed began riding 10 minutes apiece, gradually mercifully shady Western Maryland Rail — during which they smiled and waved to seashell fossils, tucking them like talismans increasing to 45-minute sessions, a regime Trail. Then, in the late afternoon, they those who opted to pedal the adjacent trail in their fanny packs. Melajia Henderson he kept up until the end of school. bused to the campsite in Cumberland, — they set out from Frostburg, Maryland, held up a piece; it sparkled with calcite Then, on June 13, RTC staff brought where the towpath connects with the on the Passage. Immediately they were crystals in the sunlight. “The rocks have the new mountain bikes and joined the Great Allegheny Passage. All the other climbing, and the rolling resistance of diamonds in them!” she breathed. students for their first training ride. They Sojourners had their tents up, and it was the crushed stone-surfaced rail-trail took A few miles later, folks from Rockwood were thrilled with the 21-speed, 20-inch- threatening rain. As the Faison crew found noticeable effort. After a few miles, they had a table beside the trail where they gave wheeled Treks and the promise that if they space for their tents, several people hurried cycled into the unlit Borden Tunnel. It out coupons for free ice cream in town. completed the Sojourn, they could keep the over to aid the newcomers, helping them was dark and disorienting. “Mr. P., I don’t Nobody fell asleep in their ice cream, but bikes. With coaching from Mr. P. and five ease into the crowd of strangers. feel like I’m moving!” called Lafayette some were dozing as they rode the bus to members of the local Major Taylor Cycling Putting up a tent, it turned out, was Goode. About then he crashed into the camp. Club (a national organization for African easy, but for these preteens the portable wall and fell off his bike. Pipkin walked Rainy Night Americans), the kids pedaled several miles toilets and especially the shower truck with him to the end of the 945-foot tunnel A steady rain began during the bus ride on Pittsburgh’s Riverfront Trail. took getting used to. Although there were while he got his bearings. and continued throughout the spaghetti

Students and coaches squeezed in individual shower stalls, sharing the com- The Faison crew continued to ascend JOSH HOOPER dinner that luckily had been planned for three more training rides, working up to mon dressing area with strange women the lower elevations of Big Passage perk. Former rail bridges and viaducts are part of the fun. indoors in tiny Confluence (pop. 800), a 15-miler. But would they be ready for and girls “felt a little weird,” Jamie Fultz with sweeping views of hills and valleys which gets its name from the juncture back-to-back days on the Great Allegheny said later. “So I just didn’t look at them.” before crossing the Mason-Dixon Line. feet in length, it’s a dramatic perspective, about calling her mother to come get her. of the Youghiogheny and Casselman riv- Passage? The 10 p.m. quiet time was hard, too. Excited to pedal across the Maryland– and some had a long time to contemplate “Please, please, let this be the end of the ers and Laurel Hill Creek. It was a wet Ready or not, early on June 27, five After dinner in town and dancing in the Pennsylvania border, the youngsters high- it while waiting for others in the group to hills! I’m gonna kiss the ground!” place that night. Inside their tents, the boys and four girls (one youngster had street, the Faison fifth-graders were more fived and posed for pictures at the overlook. catch up. Finally, they pedaled on. About They all kept cranking, and by mid- kids entertained themselves telling ghost dropped out) boarded a bus with Mr. keyed up than most Sojourners, who’d One of the Sojourn riders told them how 20 miles into the day’s ride, Taylah Pipkin, afternoon they met Jim Shaulis of the stories. P. and the other coaches and headed to been riding for five days on the C&O. As two British surveyors — Charles Mason on an uphill stretch, joked dramatically Pennsylvania Geological Survey. With his The next morning, the students broke Maryland. There they joined up with the rest of the camp fell silent, the kids and Jeremiah Dixon — established the line Sojourn director Tom Sexton, who guided chattered in their sleeping bags. So Mr. in the 1760s at the order of the English them through a warm-up day. They ped- P. marched them out of their tents away king to resolve a border dispute between th st aled in Fort Frederick State Park on the from other campers to let off steam. He the two colonies. December 26 – 31 , 2008 C&O Canal Towpath. At the restored fort, reminded them that tents are not like their In less than a mile, they entered Big 400 Miles ★ 6 Days they learned about the French and Indian houses, in which walls muffle sounds. Savage Tunnel. “Whoa, it feels like it’s air-conditioned in here!” said Taymon Accommodations ★ Meals ★ Sag Wagon ★ Commemorative T-shirt Russell, and the words echoed. The old nd railroad tunnel, blasted 3,300 feet through Plan to be a part of our 52 Annual Ride!! the mountain in 1911, had been rebuilt This exciting six day bicycle trip tours through the mountains, deserts, and seacoast for trail use — fortunately with electric around San Diego! The daily average is 55 miles with one day of 100 miles. lighting. A short climb later, the kids were www.sandiegohostels.org relieved to crest the Eastern Continental Divide, but the descent was gradual and they still had plenty of pedaling to do. The plan was for them to cycle 17 miles to lunch at Meyersdale, then continue to a fossil dig along the trail where a geologist was to help them look for fossils. Afterwards, they would cycle to Rockwood, where the special bus RTC had provided would take them to the campsite. It would be a 28½- mile day. Could they do it? After lunch, they crossed the Salisbury hooper Join Us in the Fight against HIV/AIDS in Minnesota! Viaduct, which rises high above the valley, josh July 17-20, 2008 railroad, and highway below. At 1,908 The Soujourn’s first campsite. Canal-side accommodations at Cumberland, Maryland. www.redribbonride.org REGISTER TODAY!

26 a d v e n t u r e c y c l i s t f e b r u a r y 2008 adventurecycling . o r g a d v e n t u r e c y c l i s t f e b r u a r y 2008 adventurecycling . o r g 27 camp, every one in a bright T-shirt they’d stretched on. They discovered that energy made for the ride, with FAISON in an arch surges and wanes, and how to cope. Tired, Two Thumbs Up: across the chest, the girls wearing theirs Whitney, who had ridden at the front of Pedal Pioneers: A Guide to Bicycle Travel with Kids fashionably knotted at the waist in back. the girls’ group the previous days, found The youngsters donned thin, see-through herself lagging. “I worried I couldn’t catch “Why would anyone in his or her ingly everything from liability insur- ponchos and set off through Ohiopyle up,” she recalled later, “so I rode with right mind want to take a bunch of ance to leadership style, from training State Park with its rocky outcroppings and some of the slower kids and Mr. P. so I kids on a multi-day bicycle adventure?” programs to on-tour teaching moments, trailside waterfalls, the trail closely follow- wouldn’t get lost.” begins Becky Douglas, the author and from community fundraising to camp ing the Yough River. Even on this drippy, After a stop to tour a stained glass fac- editor of Pedal Pioneers: A Guide to cleanup chores. Even experienced cyclo- overcast morning with fog rising from the tory outside Connellsville, they arrived, Bicycle Travel with Kids. “Why would tourists and tour leaders are bound to river, they could hear rafters whooping it among the last, at the playground lunch you want to spend months preparing find insights and alternatives they might up in the whitewater. The Pittsburgh nine, site. The kids devoured made-to-order for a trip that requires you to take care not have otherwise considered.

wiry legs pumping in lycra shorts, were TOM SEXTON sandwiches and wraps. Then — rebound- of every nitty-gritty detail of bikes, bags, So that you can easily add your to ride 27 miles to lunch at Connellsville. ing after their 27-mile morning — most of breakfasts, and bruises?” Not at a loss own notes and reference material, Pedal The group rode in single file, staying closer the kids hopped up to play on the merry- for answers, here is a manual published Pioneers comes in a loose-leaf binder. together than the previous day at the urg- End-of-the-day reward. Mr. P. (standing) and crew in the Yough River. go-round before boarding the bus for the by Adventure Cycling Association that Chapter and bold-faced topic headings ing of their leaders. campground. not only shares its own expertise in and bulleted lists make it easy to find But the paceline approach was prov- their leaders spread the kids out a bit. background. Then it was back to business At Cedar Creek County Park, where planning bike tours, but also draws on information. Examples and advice from ing a point of contention. Some coaches At the town of Ohiopyle they crossed a on the bicycles with 16 miles still to go to the group campsites are right beside the the oft-tested wisdom of dozens of lead- kid-tour organizers support the how-to preferred to keep everyone together so as bridge, parked the bikes, and walked a side Connellsville. Yough, the students set up their tents as ers of youth bike trips, who are more text and appear in little boxes to give not to lose anyone; others worried this trail for a close look at the falls that cascade As they spun along, they talked quietly if they’d been doing it all their lives. They than successful at it — they are pas- multiple points of view and inspiration. approach was unsafe. The question was over an 18-foot drop in the Youghiogheny. among themselves and with a few Sojourn changed into bathing suits and gleefully sionate about it. Further resources are included within answered when two girls, Taylah Pipkin The Faison youngsters clambered over the dads and their sons who had joined the waded into the river — broad and peaceful Pedal Pioneers focuses on tours for the chapters and in a robust appendix. and petite Whitney Owens, collided with rocks on shore. They snapped pictures group. The kids worked together, warning now — that they’d traced all day on the “youth who can operate their own bicy- Cartoon illustrations make turning the surprised shrieks and went down. with their disposable cameras and clowned if they were preparing to pass, and telling trail. cles.” This thorough, well-organized, pages fun. Neither seemed hurt, and after that, around as they posed with the falls in the each other to “be strong” as the miles Last Day and thoughtful book addresses seem- When the kids pedaled into McKeesport

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28 a d v e n t u r e c y c l i s t f e b r u a r y 2008 adventurecycling . o r g a d v e n t u r e c y c l i s t f e b r u a r y 2008 adventurecycling . o r g 29 after their 22-mile morning, their eager was hard, but you do it for yourself,” it,” said Johnny. “Now I believe in myself eyes said everything. “We did it!” they remarked Alyson McAtee. “It’s a goal that I can do other things.” Nuts & Bolts: How We Did It exulted. They’d completed their part of you can accomplish, and it makes you feel the Sojourn, earning the right to keep their really good when you’re done.” A regular contributor to Adventure Cyclist, Susan The gently graded, traffic- tor of the Center for Minority Trauma Society and Safe Kids lished and what we learned. bicycles. “I never gave up!” said Devin Johnny Spell agreed. “I believed in Weaver says that the best journeys are on two wheels, free rail-trails that make up Health (CMH) in the Graduate USA. And we purchased the To others I suggest: Brown with a grin almost bigger than his myself that I was strong and could make and often you find yourself along the way. a good portion of its route School of Public Health at the Trek mountain bikes at a 20 slender face. have always attracted families University of Pittsburgh. Dr. percent discount from a local Whitney nodded. “Our coach, Mr. with children to the Greenway Thomas — already involved bike shop. Bruce,” she said, “told me he was really Sojourn. Last year was the with Adventure Cycling’s Funding the program. A proud of me for doing that many miles!” first time, though, that Rails- Underground Railroad spur $4,500 grant from the Heinz They were ready to celebrate at brunch. to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) route — provided staff assis- Endowments, arranged by Dr. Inside the Palisades building beside the undertook hosting a group of tance to locate the right par- Thomas, and a $1,000 grant ticipant group. Thomas, like from the Jewish Healthcare marina, music was playing and other Sexton, saw the project as a Foundation — both Pittsburgh Sojourners were dancing to “Y.M.C.A.” way to bring diversity to the foundations — just about Some of the Faison group joined the Great Allegheny Passage to funded equipment purchases dancers, and others headed for the food, promote active living among and bus/driver expenses. RTC arranged like a buffet in a grand hotel.

African Americans. CMH’s provided free registration to JOSH HOOPER After brunch, most of the kids boarded project director Mario Browne the group of 15, which covered their bus to drive into Pittsburgh. Johnny found Faison Academy and other ride costs. • Start early. We could have Spell and Ronald Coker, however, still felt assistant principal Anthony Coaching and mentoring. used a year and a half to strong and wanted to join the nine-mile Pipkin, who enthusiastically The original plan was that the accomplish what we tried to mass road ride into the city, intended to pitched in to help his students coach-chaperones would come do in seven months. draw attention to the piece of the Passage succeed. from Faison, because they • Consider involving the

SUSAN WEAVER still needing to be built downtown. Joined Tailoring the ride to kids’ would know the students. That youths and their organization abilities. Had we been able did not work our but, fortu- in generating funds. Had we by two of the coaches, Bryan Funk and students as guests. Father of to start the kids’ training nately, the Center for Minority recruited earlier, Faison would Bruce Woods, the two boys lined up with two, tour director Tom Sexton earlier, they would have been Health had ties with the local have been willing to help with 480 other Sojourners behind the state was keen to share his love of fit enough to ride the full 42 chapter of the Major Taylor fundraising projects. police motorcycles. Engines revved and trails and cycling with kids miles each day. But to pro- Cycling Club. Five of their • Establish leadership roles the cyclists moved out, up highway over- from the destination city of vide a doable challenge, we members — Bruce and Shelia clearly among trip mentors. passes and along city streets. “It was hard Pittsburgh who otherwise planned on 25- to 30-mile Woods, Brian Funk, Holly Plan how to handle the kids’ because we had to go up a big hill,” Johnny would not have participated. days for the kids and coaches. Hudson, and Mary Lou White differing cycling abilities. said afterward, “but somebody helped me I was one of the RTC staffers We arranged for the same bus Dividing them into a couple of shift my gears. It was exciting to ride in a who helped put the youth pro- and driver that brought them smaller groups, for example, huge group. There were all different kinds gram together. Here are some from Pittsburgh to transport instead of trying to keep them of bikers, and there were cars going by on key decisions we faced. them at the end of each all together would have elimi- the other side of the road and drivers call- Choosing the group. We fig- day’s ride to the campsite. A nated some of the waiting ured we could afford and man- 16-foot rental truck carried the for slower riders. Read Pedal ing ‘Hi!’” age a group of 10 youths and group’s bikes, camping gear, Pioneers for strategies on that Epilogue five mentors. Based, among and luggage. topic and on conflict resolu- After the Faison kids started sixth grade other things, on knowledge of Equipping the group. We tion because these issues will in September, the bike tour was still fresh his 10-year-old son’s abilities assumed correctly that most come up. in their memories. So was an unexpected and interests, Sexton favored students would not have suit- • Mainstream the kids. Other commendation from the Pittsburgh City this age group as old enough able bicycles, cycling clothing, Sojourners welcomed the Council. On July 10, along with Mr. P. to pedal their own bikes on or camping gear. REI, one of Faison group and were excited SUSAN WEAVER and their other coaches, the students were the trail and to be enriched by the Sojourn sponsors, lent about this program. With more called to the front of the council room to the experience. the group rental tents, sleep- — coached the kids on training training, the students could hear a proclamation in their honor. As Our office near Harrisburg ing bags, and sleeping pads. rides and during the Sojourn, have cycled the full daily mile- the Channel 21 camera rolled, Mr. P. and was half a state away, so we Seeking discounts for bulk sharing their knowledge and age, giving them more chanc- Ronald Coker spoke about the ride and needed to find a youth orga- purchases, RTC bought each love of cycling. es to get to know other riders nization in Pittsburgh that of the kids a pair of lycra Lessons learned. The youth during the cycling day and thanked the council. could share the planning, cycling shorts, an inexpensive program was a huge success enriching everyone’s experi- Later, remembering that evening, Devin chaperoning, and coaching. rain poncho, a ride shirt, a dis- but it was also a learning ence. And we could have cut Brown told of his heady feeling as “every- We had a valuable partner in posable camera, and a journal experience. Doing it a second the cost of retaining a bus and body kept on congratulating us.” RTC national board member notebook. We obtained free time would be easier, building driver during the tour. Perhaps even more important than a Dr. Stephen Thomas, direc- helmets through the American on the partnerships we estab- commendation is what these students learned about themselves. “The bike ride

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