A Flash of Gold

Paola Pezzo Rides with Trips For Kids
By Michael Bower

A late morning breeze off the Pacific Ocean kept temperatures near the fifty degree mark one April day this year, but could do little to cool a group case of Paola Pezzo fever. The occasion was one of the many guided mountain bike excursions put on by local non-profit, Trips For Kids Marin. This one, however, was anything but routine.

Trips For Kids takes hundreds of inner-city kids across the country out of their day-to-day environment every year and exposes them to a piece of the world many of them had no clue even existed, an outdoors made up of woodlands, beaches, deer...and bicycles. The goal is to combine lessons in personal responsibility, achievement and environmental awareness through development of practical skills and the simple act of having fun. Caring Trip for Kids staff and volunteers instruct their guests on bicycle fit and safety, then everyone heads off onto some of Northern California's finest biking trails for a day of challenge, education and adventure.

The buzz surrounding this day's event in Marin County's Tennessee Valley centered on the fact that Italian two-time Olympic gold medal winner Paola Pezzo and local mountain biking pioneer, Gary Fisher, were coming along as ride guides. The kids, 10- and 11- year olds from San Francisco's Daniel Webster Elementary School, had a visit from Trips For Kids staff the previous day, so they were up on the visitors' accomplishments prior to meeting them at the trailhead. They were even more impressed when Fisher revealed Pezzo's gold-plated mountain bike. She'd be riding this one today, adding a tasteful bit of glitter, along with her matching gold helmet and jacket, to an already bright, sunny day. Fisher was outfitted in mostly red, standing out nearly as much as Ms. Paola was.

The kids had many questions for their celebrity guests and were not at all shy about asking them. One wondered which of the two was the fastest, a query that was answered with only chuckles from them both. Once the questions were answered, and more than a few autographs were signed, the kids were each paired with an adult and the ride to the beach began. Pezzo and Fisher gave their all, riding with individuals, chatting, listening, showing them how to properly use their brakes and gears, demonstrating how to ride downhill safely, and staying with those who found the uphill sections a bit challenging. After a brief stop at the edge of the ocean the bikers headed back to the starting point. Once there, it was quickly realized that the kids had a lot of riding left in them, so it was proposed that they all take on a very long climb before calling it a day. Everyone was eager to tackle the hill. Anyone who thinks today's kids are lazy or spoiled hasn't ridden with the group from Daniel Webster Elementary!

Once the climb was conquered by all, the group turned its attention to the downhill still before them. The grown-up contingent was understandably concerned that gravity may be too much for our young riders to battle this day. It was all too easy to imagine one of them taking an unintentional and uncontrolled short cut down the mountain without benefit of trail or adult guidance. Such fears proved unfounded as nearly every kid navigated the twists, turns and potential tumbles with a more than adequate sense of care and responsibility. A couple of kids did test the limits of their braking systems, and there were a handful of minor spills. No serious injuries reported!

At the bottom of the trail those at the front of the group congregated as the rest of the tired riders came in. Pezzo, in a heartwarming show of team spirit, agreed to ride back up a part of the hill so that everyone could see how she tackled a tricky section on the descent. She hit the little hill with a good bit of speed, pulled up slightly at the crest and caught what she later called a "little bit" of air. Fisher followed her lead, as the crowd cheered. Three kids now felt it was up to them to have a go. The ride leaders crossed their fingers as each came, gingerly, but in high spirits, over the hill. Again, nothing broken.

At the end of every Trips For Kids ride there's a ceremony in which each rider shares something about their experience. They're then rewarded for their efforts with a cookie. On this day thanks were given to both guest stars for spending time with these kids whose lives are often played out in challenging circumstances. One proud young man said how his mother was never going to believe what he had done that day. Gary Fisher was thanked for his part in the invention of the mountain bike. He then thanked everyone for riding them. Trips For Kids founder Marilyn Price called it "one of the great inventions of our time." Ride leader Sarah Tukman closed out the circle time by telling how she was glad for the "little flash of gold" she'd see every now and then, off in the distance, as she rode with the kids in the back of the pack. That flash was Paola Pezzo's gold helmet and cycling jacket. That moment served as a reminder that two sporting giants had chosen this day to make some kids feel like they were the champions. It worked.

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