Mountain Bike Mania

by Matt Christopher

  Will was shocked into silence. Ace turned around and shoved off down the wide path that bordered the stream at the bottom of the canyon.

  “This is the canyon trail,” he shouted back over his shoulder. “It’s a horseback riding trail, so the trick is to avoid the booby traps! Ha, ha!” He swerved crazily to avoid a pile of horse droppings. Another rut was dug deeply into the horse trail.

  Will tried to avoid the droppings, too, but was careful not to do any damage to the trail.

  Ace disappeared around a bend. Seconds later, Will heard the frightened whinny of a horse and a child’s scream. A man’s bellowing, angry voice followed.

  Will got off his bike and walked it forward, sensing what had happened and not wanting to have anyone’s anger at Ace directed toward him.

  “Did you see that?” the man was saying over and over again. He sat astride a big brown horse, and a little girl of about eight, his daughter, Will guessed, sat on a white horse, crying. Her father held the reins of both horses in one hand and had his other arm around the little girl. Next to them were three other riders, all sympathizing.

  “They ought to ban mountain bikers from the trails,” one of the others said. “Little Michelle practically got thrown! She could’ve been seriously hurt!”

  Just then the man caught sight of Will. He turned on him angrily.

  “I’m sorry about him,” Will said hurriedly before the man could speak. “But you know, not all mountain bikers act like that. In fact, most of us don’t. So I hope you won’t hold what happened against all mountain bikers.”

  “Hmm,” the father said, giving his daughter a comforting squeeze. “Well, I’m glad to see somebody’s got a little consideration. Listen, do you know the name of that kid?” he asked.

  “Um, no,” Will said. He balked at getting Ace in trouble. On the other hand, he was going to have to say something to him, even if it meant Ace didn’t want to be his friend anymore.

  In fact, now that Will thought of it, how good a friend had Ace turned out to be? With his wild behavior at school, he’d gotten the whole club in trouble. And with his antics on the trails, he was giving all mountain bikers a bad reputation.

  Will apologized again and rode off after Ace. On his way, he passed a gum wrapper and two candy wrappers thrown along the trail. When he caught up to Ace, he was chewing gum, and the side of his mouth was stained with chocolate.

  “Want some gum?” Ace asked. “What took you? Hit some booby traps?” He laughed, but Will sensed it was a nervous laugh.

  Will shook his head. “I’d better get home,” he said. “My folks will be wondering where I’ve gone.”

  “This place is the best, isn’t it?” Ace asked as he strapped on his helmet. Then he shoved off down the trail.

  “Yeah. It sure is,” Will said. He wondered how long it would stay that way if people like Ace Diamond kept ruining it for everybody.

  Will thought suddenly of Danny. Someone had ruined mountain biking for Danny before he’d even gotten started. And from all he’d seen of Ace in the past weeks, he was pretty sure that someone had been him. But he’d never know positively.

  One thing he did know, though. Danny was a true friend and a good human being. He always had been.

  Will stared at Ace’s back as he pedaled down the trail. If only it were Danny he was biking with, he thought. He wished he could show his pal all the places Ace had shown him.

  Then and there, Will made up his mind. He was going to apologize to Danny — for everything. And one last time, he was going to try to talk him into going mountain biking.

  9

  After school on Monday, Will found Danny at his usual seat in the library. Danny was scribbling away in one of his notebooks, copying information out of a history book about ancient Babylon.

  “Man,” Will said, grinning and shaking his head. “I wish I had you for a history teacher!”

  Danny looked up and could not repress a sly grin. “I don’t know all that much,” he said modestly.

  “More than Mr. Singer, for sure!” Will said, plopping his book bag down on the table and sitting across from his old friend.

  “Well, that’s not hard,” Danny shrugged. He shut his book, first making sure he’d bookmarked the page. “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I thought you had biking club on Monday afternoons.” Then he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “Oh, yeah, that’s right. I forgot. The club’s on suspension. I guess I’m responsible for that, right?”

  “It wasn’t your fault,” Will offered. “It was whoever sprayed that graffiti. That was the last straw.”

  Danny shrugged. “Well, it’s nice of you not to hold a grudge,” he said. “I hear Mr. Rivera’s going to lift the suspension this week anyway.” Then he blew out a deep breath and said, “Listen, Will, I’m sorry if I haven’t been exactly friendly to you.”

  “Oh, that’s okay,” Will said quickly. “I deserve it. I mean —”

  “No, it wasn’t your fault what that jerk Ace Diamond said to me,” Danny pointed out.

  “I should have said something,” Will insisted. “He was being an idiot, and I feel bad that I didn’t stick up for you.”

  Danny looked down at the table. “That would have been nice, but I understand,” he said softly. “It’s hard for me to realize sometimes how important it is for some people to be popular.”

  “But that isn’t it!” Will protested.

  “It isn’t?”

  “Not really, no. I don’t care about being popular. Not that much anyway. Not if it means you won’t want to be my friend. It’s just that, well, I joined the mountain biking club, right?”

  “Don’t remind me.”

  “And all the kids there happen to be really popular, it’s true,” Will admitted. “But I just want to have mountain biking buddies, you know? I mean, if you went biking with me —”

  “Forget it,” Danny cut in, frowning.

  “So what was I supposed to do?” Will asked. “If I stuck up for you, Ace would think I was a dork —”

  “Oh, thank you very much,” Danny commented dryly.

  “C’mon, you know what I mean, Danny,” Will said. “If I crossed Ace, I’d be, like, out with the club, and I was afraid for that to happen. The rest of the gang is really nice. You’d like them. Especially Gail.”

  “Uh-huh.” Danny didn’t sound convinced, but at least he was listening.

  “Anyway,” Will went on, “it turns out that Ace is a complete jerk.”

  “I could have told you that,” Danny said, smirking. “Go on.”

  “He rides like a maniac, litters everywhere he goes, messes up the bike paths. He also does some dangerous stuff — yells and screams and scares hikers and horseback riders. In fact, he might even have been one of the kids who nearly ran over us that time. I don’t know for sure, but I would bet money on it.”

  Danny nodded slowly but didn’t say anything.

  “And I have a feeling that he’s the one who sprayed the graffiti, too. So what I’m trying to say is, I’m not going to go riding alone with Ace anymore, even if it means I don’t ride on weekends.”

  “That’s all you’re trying to say?” Danny prodded him.

  “And, well, I’d really like it if —if you would try mountain biking once. And before you say no, just listen for one minute. This is me talking, Danny. Me. Will. And I’m telling you, mountain biking is the most fun thing I’ve ever done in my entire life! I know you’ll like it if you let yourself try it.”

  “Well,” Danny said, making a face but clearly softening, “maybe I’ll give it one try. But not with the club. I’m not going anywhere near that maniac.”

  “Like I said, there are other people in the club, and they’re pretty nice — for popular kids, that is.” They both laughed, real friends again for the first time in weeks.

  “I could go with you on Saturday,” Danny said, giving in. “But I’m not going anywhere dangerous, and if you take me anyplace like that or bring any of your new buddie
s with you, I’m turning right around.”

  “Deal!” Will said, grinning from ear to ear. “You won’t regret this, Danny. I promise you!”

  “I regret it already,” Danny said, shooting him a wry look before opening his book again. “Now sit down and do your homework.”

  Just as Danny had foretold, Mr. Rivera revoked the suspension of the mountain biking club on Thursday morning. They were free to meet on Friday afternoon for the first time in a week.

  This posed a minor problem for Will. He didn’t want to let Ace know his new intentions. But what if Ace asked him to go riding on Saturday? Will knew that if that happened, he’d have to make up some excuse. But then he would have to disguise the fact that he was going biking with Danny instead.

  To make things even more complicated, he needed to borrow a mountain bike for Danny, since his friend didn’t have anything close to suitable. How was Will going to do that?

  The only person he could think to ask was Gail Chen, who wasn’t very fond of Ace and was ultra-generous. Will felt sure Gail could keep his secret. But she was at least a foot taller than Danny, and her bike would never fit him. Will remembered what Julian down at the bike shop had said about bikes fitting their riders. The last thing Will wanted to do was endanger his best friend.

  The bike club met after school, and all the club members were totally psyched to ride after a week of suspension. Only Ace still seemed to have a chip on his shoulder. “Can you believe we’re still on probation?” he said, shaking his head in disgust. “One more little tiny incident and the club gets disbanded!”

  “You know, Ace,” Juliette said, “that’s totally in our control. We don’t have to provoke any little tiny incidents.” The tone of her voice showed in no uncertain terms that she blamed Ace for the club’s getting suspended in the first place.

  “Look, Mr. Rivera was prejudiced against biking from the beginning!” Ace protested. “How come he didn’t suspend those other kids for their petition?”

  “Petitioning is legal,” Gail commented. “Graffiti is not.”

  “Are you saying something?” Ace asked. “If you are, just say it, okay?”

  “Never mind,” Gail said. But the happy mood of the club members had been shaken. Their spirits didn’t improve until they were out on the ski trails at Slide Mountain, where they all got caught up in the thrill of riding.

  It was a long, wonderful late October afternoon — cool enough so they didn’t get too tired. Will wondered if Danny would like it better here or if he should take him somewhere else — like to the ramps, or the South Fork Reservation. There were so many great trails around Montwood that it was hard to choose!

  Just then, Ace came up to him. “Hey, kid,” he said. “Wanna go back to the state forest tomorrow?”

  “No, thanks,” Will said. “Umm… my parents don’t want me biking anymore outside of the club. They got really mad last weekend when they found out I went riding without their permission.”

  “Man,” Ace said, frowning and shaking his head. “Parents can be so unfair! That is just plain mean.”

  “I know,” Will agreed, feeling guilty already about dragging his parents into this little lie of his. “It bites.”

  “Sure you can’t sneak out?” Ace asked hopefully.

  “Nah, I’d better not,” Will said. “Sorry.”

  “S’okay,” Ace said. “I’ll find somebody else to go with.”

  Will didn’t doubt that. Ace always managed to find people to do things with. That was why Will had been so flattered when Ace called for him all those times. He realized, with a start, that Ace’s popularity had mattered to him after all. Well, that was over now, whether Danny took up mountain biking or not.

  On the way back to town, Will rode his bike up beside Gail’s. “Hi!” he said, giving her a little wave.

  “How’s it goin’?” Gail asked, showing her infectious, braces-covered smile.

  “Okay, I guess,” Will said. “Actually, there’s this friend of mine I’d like to get into mountain biking.”

  “Cool!” Gail said. “I’m getting tired of the same old faces around here, know what I mean?”

  “Yeah.” Will nodded in agreement. “Anyway, this friend of mine needs to borrow a bike for Saturday.”

  “Want to use mine?” Gail asked.

  “Thanks, but yours is too big for him.”

  “Why don’t you ask Mitch?” she suggested. “He’s not too big. And he and Candy always go away weekends.”

  “I know,” Will said. “But I don’t want to let any of the others know about this. See, this kid, he sort of hates Ace’s guts.”

  “Oh.” Gail nodded sagely. “Well, hey, I’ve got an idea! Go borrow a bike from Julian.”

  “Julian?” Why hadn’t he thought of it? Sure! Hadn’t Julian said to come see him if he ever needed any help?

  On the other hand, Julian worked at Diamond Cycle. Ace Diamond was in there all the time and might show up when he was there. Should he risk going down there this evening?

  The way Will looked at it, he had no other choice. It was either get a bike for Danny to ride or lose this golden opportunity, maybe forever. “Thanks, Gail,” he said. “You’re the best!”

  “I know it,” Gail said. “What are you all going to do without me when I graduate in January?”

  “You’re going to graduate in January?”

  “Unless I fail something, and I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

  “But who’ll be club president?”

  “I don’t know,” Gail said. “I guess you guys will have an election. But if you want me to guess, I’d say Ace looks like a shoo-in.”

  Will frowned. He knew she was right. And if Ace was the club president, forget about Danny ever joining.

  Oh, well. He’d just have to cross that bridge when he came to it. For the moment, he had more important things to do, like borrowing a bike from Diamond Cycle without Ace Diamond finding out!

  “Hey, dude!” Julian greeted him when Will walked into Diamond Cycle that evening. His mom had kindly dropped him off. She seemed happy for him — glad both that the club had been reinstated and that Will was getting together with Danny again. Apparently, it was a relief to her.

  “Hi,” Will greeted the older boy, matching his gap-toothed grin with a smile of his own. “Is Ace around?”

  “Ace? No. Why, are you looking for him?”

  “No! Just the opposite,” Will corrected him. “It’s… I don’t want him to see me here tonight.”

  “Whoa. Cloak and dagger,” Julian joked, chuckling. “What’s the big secret, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “It’s just that I told Ace I couldn’t go biking with him tomorrow, because I’m actually planning to go biking with someone else. So if he sees me here…”

  “What exactly are you doing here?” Julian asked. “You didn’t ride your bike over to have it retuned, I notice. Are you shopping for something newer and fancier already?”

  “It’s not for me,” Will said. “My friend Danny needs a bike for tomorrow. Not to buy. Like, to borrow.”

  “Aaaaah,” Julian said, nodding knowingly with a sly smile. “And you come to me for help? No prob, dude. I’m sure we can find a bike his size and let him test-ride it for a day or two.”

  “Fantastic!” Will said, high-fiving Julian. “Are you sure it’s okay? What if Mr. Diamond finds out?”

  “Hey, it’s better than Ace test-riding one,” Julian said. “Your friend can’t smash them up any faster than him, whatever he does.”

  “I don’t know,” Will said. “He’s never been mountain biking before.”

  “Hey, neither had you when you started out,” Julian pointed out. “And that wasn’t so long ago.”

  “I just wish Danny and Ace didn’t hate each other’s guts so much,” Will said with a sigh.

  “Ah, I see trouble ahead,” Julian said. “Gotta work that one out in your mind beforehand.”

  “I know,” Will said. “I’m tryi
ng. But nothing’s coming to me.”

  “Something will,” Julian assured him. “Just give it time. Meanwhile, let’s go pick your friend out a bike!”

  10

  This thing looks dangerous,” Danny commented as he surveyed the bike Will had borrowed for him. It was resting on its kickstand in the center of Will’s driveway, and Danny was walking slow circles around it, bending now and then to inspect different parts of it that were evidently mysteries to him.

  “Bikes aren’t dangerous,” Will corrected him. “Riders are. So don’t worry. I’m sure you’re not going to throw all caution to the wind your first time out.”

  “Yeah, that’s me,” Danny grinned. “A real daredevil on wheels. Do I get a helmet and pads, too?”

  These Will had borrowed from Gail on Friday after their ride. With minor adjustments to the helmet straps, they fit Danny fine. He always did have a big head for his body, Will reflected.

  Danny looked kind of awkward on the bike at first. He never rode anymore, as he told Will. He had never gotten into regular biking as a little kid. “I could never understand why these things don’t fall over,” he told Will as they rode around the block once or twice for practice. “I mean, a table with only two legs crashes pretty fast.”

  “You’re in motion, duh!” Will shot back, laughing. He knew Danny was making jokes at his own expense. Probably he was doing it so nobody else would be the first to make fun of him. But Will would never have done that, to Danny or anyone else. He knew, of course, that there were plenty of kids who made fun of other kids. It made Will mad that he never had the guts to tell them to shut up.

  “So where are you taking me?” Danny said when it was finally time to strap on their day packs and go. The packs were filled with their lunch, and a few tools and spare parts just in case. During his weeks in the club, Will had learned how to prepare for a day-long ride.

  “South Fork Reservation,” Will told him. He’d thought about taking Danny to the ramps, where they wouldn’t meet any hikers or horseback riders. But the ramps were pretty challenging, and after watching Danny struggle his way around the block, Will decided against taking him there.