When nine youngsters from a Pittsburgh intermediate school agreed to ride bikes and camp out with the Sojourn for four days, they never dreamed they’d end up at City Council. But that’s where they were on July 10, along with their assistant principal, Anthony Pipkin, and their other coaches, listening to a proclamation in their honor. RTC’s first “youth scholarship” participants, these eleven-year-old boys and girls from Helen S. Faison Arts Academy had just proved to themselves and several hundred new friends what they could do.
When they were chosen in mid-May, a few of the kids wondered whether they were up to cycling 25 miles a day. But immediately Mr. P, as they call him, put a stationary bike in his office. Each day he brought the kids in one by one during recess and some of their classes. They started riding 10 minutes apiece and gradually increased. Once they had their new mountain bikes, they hit the trail, with coaching from Mr. Pipkin and five members of the local Major Taylor Cycling Club.
But would it be enough? It was a little like a reality-TV show. With just four trail rides under their belts, were they ready for back-to-back days on the Great Allegheny Passage?
When they were chosen in mid-May, a few of the kids wondered whether they were up to cycling 25 miles a day. But immediately Mr. P, as they call him, put a stationary bike in his office. Each day he brought the kids in one by one during recess and some of their classes. They started riding 10 minutes apiece and gradually increased. Once they had their new mountain bikes, they hit the trail, with coaching from Mr. Pipkin and five members of the local Major Taylor Cycling Club.
But would it be enough? It was a little like a reality-TV show. With just four trail rides under their belts, were they ready for back-to-back days on the Great Allegheny Passage?
Ready or not, they boarded a bus with Mr. P and the other coaches and headed to Maryland early on June 27. Beginning with a 10-mile warmup that day on the Western Maryland Rail Trail, a visit to historic Fort Frederick and their first night of camping in Cumberland—not to mention joining several hundred strangers—the kids had plenty of new experiences to digest. Some had never been to Maryland before, and none had ever camped out. No wonder they seemed a little keyed up that first night.
After they rode the scenic train from Cumberland to Frostburg, Md., I joined the group to share their experience of the Passage. Excited to pedal across the border, they posed for pictures at the Mason-Dixon Line, where a friendly Sojourner explained its history. On the Salisbury Viaduct we paused for sweeping views of the valley with the highway stretching away below.
The plan was to cycle 16 miles to lunch and another 14 to a fossil dig where a geologist was to meet us. Could they do it? One girl joked dramatically about calling her mother to come get her—“I’m gonna kiss the ground!”—but they all kept turning the pedals. By mid-afternoon they were looking for fossils. They had energy left over for ice cream in Rockwood before piling into their bus for the ride to camp in Confluence.
After a rainy night we set off through Ohiopyle State Park with its rocky outcroppings and trailside waterfalls. It was a drippy, overcast morning, and they were to ride 27 miles to lunch. Wearing their plastic ponchos, the kids rode quietly in single file, moving along well until—the last thing I wanted to see—two girls collided and went down.
Luckily the trail provided a soft landing and neither girl was hurt. After that, their leaders had them spread out a bit. At Ohiopyle we crossed the High Bridge with great views of the Yough. We parked our bikes and hiked to the falls, where the youngsters clowned around and posed for a photo with Mr. P.
It was still a long way to Connellsville, with a stop at the town’s stained glass factory when we did arrive. Among the last to the lunch site, we ate and then the kids hopped up to play on the merry-go-round and make friends with the locals. That’s when I was sure they would go the distance.
And they did. The next day, June 30, was our last, and their smiles said everything at the celebration brunch in McKeesport. Two of the boys even rode an extra nine miles on road with the other Sojourners and the police escort.
And so, in the words of Pittsburgh City Council, I “applaud the students”—Devin Brown, Ronald Coker, Jamie Fultz, Layfayette Goode, Melaysia Henderson, Alyson McAtee, Whitney Owens, Tamon Russell and John Spell—as well as Mr. P’s daughter, Taylah Pipkin, who also participated. I hope these great kids are enjoying the rest of the summer with the new bikes they earned by completing the ride.
RTC and I also thank the coaches—Brian Funk, Holly Hudson, Marylou White and Bruce and Shelia Wood, along with Anthony Pipkin. Dr. Stephen Thomas and Mario Browne of the Center for Minority Health (CMH, in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh) shared our vision of “embracing diversity” and helped organize the youth program. Heinz Endowments and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation helped fund the program.
RTC and I also thank the coaches—Brian Funk, Holly Hudson, Marylou White and Bruce and Shelia Wood, along with Anthony Pipkin. Dr. Stephen Thomas and Mario Browne of the Center for Minority Health (CMH, in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh) shared our vision of “embracing diversity” and helped organize the youth program. Heinz Endowments and the Jewish Healthcare Foundation helped fund the program.
Susan Weaver
