Mountain Bike Mania (5 page)

Danny seemed dumbstruck. “Really? Why?” This time, his voice was incredulous.

“It has to be the greatest feeling,” Will said dreamily. “Total speed and freedom, nature — I don’t know, everything!”

“You’re not telling me you’ve already gone down a mountain,” Danny said.

“No, not yet,” Will admitted. “But —”

“Then you don’t
know
anything,” Danny insisted. “You’re only imagining. And while you’re doing it, imagine the terrified hikers you’ll be passing
on your way down. Imagine hitting one of them.”

“Cut it out, Danny. You know I would never hit anybody.”

“Well, either you would or you wouldn’t,” Danny insisted. “If you wouldn’t, then quit thinking you’re going to fly down the
mountain. ‘Cause you can’t do that and be careful, too.”

“I think you can.” Will held his ground. “I’ll bet I can.”

Just then, the librarian came over to shush them, and they both opened their books and started doing homework.

Will’s reverie was broken. Suddenly there was a downside to his new hobby. He hadn’t realized just how upset Danny was about
the incident on Saturday. Unless he could make Danny see how great mountain biking was, it might come between the two of them.
Will might even wind up losing his best, oldest friend. And he sure didn’t want that to happen.

On Friday at two-thirty the club met outside the gym doors. Everyone was in a great mood. There was no school the next day,
and they had all weekend
to do their homework. This afternoon was strictly for fun!

Will, like the rest of them, had left his book bag in his locker, knowing that the school would remain open all afternoon
and evening, as it did every Friday.

He would retrieve his bag later. All he carried now were a few granola bars crammed into his pockets and his two trusty water
bottles, which fit neatly into holders on the sides of his bike frame.

Even though he’d been in the club for only a few days, he felt totally at home with the other bikers. Everyone had welcomed
him warmly from the first moment. Even Ace, who had some reason to be angry at Will for buying “his” bike, was being super-friendly.
Will wondered why anyone would ever have a problem with Ace.

Following Gail’s schedule, they rode out to Slide Mountain. The ski resort was a good eight miles out of town, and they had
to be careful of traffic. But once they were there, they registered, paid the small entry fee, and got ready for their ride
uphill.

“I hope you’re ready for this, Will,” Gail said. “It’s
hard work. Just ride alongside me or just ahead of me. I’ll give you some pointers if you’re in trouble.”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” Will said confidently. “I’ll be fine.”

Famous last words. After five minutes of exhausting pedaling, Will had to stop to catch his breath. Gail called out for the
others to meet at the trail head, then came back to check on Will.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Will gasped. “But this is harder than I thought.” He stared longingly up at the ski lift and noticed that plenty of
riders had their bikes hanging on the lift as they rode comfortably to the top.

Gail noticed his longing look. “Forget it,” she said. “We only use those when we go on the advanced trails. We’re doing the
bunny slope today.”

“Oh.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he assured her, his breath finally back to normal. “I don’t know what the trouble is. Maybe I’m not shifting right
or something.”

“No, it isn’t that,” Gail said. “You’re, like, not getting up and over the bike enough.”

“Huh?”

“You have to lean more forward to keep your momentum going,” she advised, demonstrating. “Go ahead — I’ll follow you. Just
remember to stay forward on the bike.”

Will tried it, and sure enough, he was able to get the bike going and keep it going, all the way up to the trail head. Still,
he was huffing and puffing by the time he made it. The others were waiting for him there, applauding him as he pedaled the
last few yards.

Will flushed with embarrassment. He
stunk
at mountain biking!

“Hey, don’t feel bad,” Candy said, smiling. “It’s hard going uphill.”

“Yeah, tell me about it!” Will said, managing a laugh. “Now I know why there aren’t a hundred kids in this club.”

“Hey, don’t knock mountain biking,” Ace warned him sternly. “It isn’t for everybody. That’s just the point. Who wants a huge
crowd on the trail, anyway? Not me!” He clapped Will on the shoulder. “You got up here okay,” he told him. “Not bad for a
first time. Proud of you, kid.”

Will grinned from ear to ear. “Thanks,” he said, feeling a lump of pride in his throat. Looking out at the snowcapped mountains
in the distance and feeling the fresh wind in his face, Will took a moment to bask in the new friendships he’d made.

Will took a few long drinks of water and ate a granola bar. After a few minutes, Gail checked her watch, looked at the sun
getting lower in the sky, and said, “Okay, guys. It’s time to go down!”

“Ya-hoo!” Ace and Steven yelled. “Ya-hoooooo!”

The sound chilled Will. That yell was identical to the one he and Danny had heard from the maniac bikers on the mountain.
He looked at Ace and Steven and wondered if it were possible.…

“Let’s go!” Mitch called. “Come on, Will!”

“Just remember to feather your brakes,” Gail reminded him. “It will help you keep an even pace. And use your feet to steady
you whenever you have any sense of trouble.”

“Okay,” Will said, nodding and concentrating as he shoved off.

“Above all, watch out for hikers, horses, et cetera,” Gail called out to him. “You never know
who’s out there, and we sure don’t want anybody getting hurt.”

They went single file, spaced out at safe intervals, so they wouldn’t risk collisions. There were boulders, and tree roots,
and dips in the terrain to watch out for. Will found himself applying the brakes a lot. It wasn’t scary, but he wasn’t ready
to go too fast — not on his first downhill run.

Far ahead, he could hear Ace and Steve, and the others, too, whooping it up as they careened down the trail. But Will didn’t
try to catch up with them. He found himself being ultra-careful, and it surprised him. Dimly he wondered if it could have
anything to do with the near-accident he and Danny had had.

At first, most of Will’s attention was focused on staying on the bike and not falling. He bounced over rocks and ruts, felt
the jarring sensations shoot up his arms. His leg muscles burned with the effort of keeping his pace steady.

Gradually he grew more confident. He realized that if he let his arms go limp instead of holding them stiff, they’d absorb
the shocks better. He
feathered his brakes less often and let his pace increase. Finally he became aware of the wind rushing up at him and the trees
whooshing by on either side. The sensation of full flight was totally awesome!

It was heart-pounding, second-splitting action, all right. It was about the most exciting thing he’d ever done! As he neared
the bottom, he could see that they were all waiting for him, cheering him on, waving and laughing.

Once again, though, they were laughing
with
him, not
at
him. “Hey, you made it!” Ace shouted, applauding and whistling. “Whoo-hoo!”

“Yeah, Will!” Steve Barrad shouted, giving Will the mountain biker’s handshake. Mitch and the others followed suit, giving
Will multiple slaps on the back till he cried out for mercy.

It was only on the way back to town that Will thought about Danny again. Ace, riding beside him, noticed the look on his face.
“What’s up, kid?” he asked. “Something bothering you?”

“Nah, not really,” Will said.

“Don’t jive me,” Ace said, looking him right in the
eyes as they rode side by side. “What’s going on? Tell me.”

Will sighed. “It’s my best friend, Danny. He hates mountain biking. I wish I could get him to try it.”

“He hates mountain biking?” Ace repeated. “Will, forget about him, man. Just dump him. He’s a loser.”

“He’s not a loser,” Will protested, startled by Ace’s curt dismissal of Danny.

“Whatever,” Ace responded, clearly unconvinced. “Tell me one thing. Has he ever tried it? Huh? Has he ever even been on a
mountain bike?”

“I don’t think so,” Will had to admit.

“I rest my case,” Ace said. “Do what you want, but I’ll tell you, if it were me, I wouldn’t bother with anyone who doesn’t
like mountain biking. Mountain biking, that’s what I’m all about. You don’t like it, you don’t like me.” He looked sideways
at Will. “And I got a feeling mountain biking is gonna be you, too. Am I right?”

Will nodded. “Yeah,” he said, looking ahead at the road. “Yeah, I guess so.”

But inside, Will knew he didn’t mean it. He liked
mountain biking a lot — even loved it — but it wasn’t “what he was all about.”

If only he could find a way to get Danny interested in the club! But he knew it was impossible.

Glancing over at Ace, he felt certain that Danny and Ace would never hit it off. Not in a million years.

T
hat night, Will didn’t sleep well. He kept dreaming he was on his mountain bike, going down a sloping trail at full speed.
Suddenly there stood Danny, right in front of him! Danny opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Instead, from behind
him, Will heard a maniacal voice yelling, “Ya-hoo!” He woke up in a cold sweat, his heart pounding.

On Saturday morning, he called Danny first thing and invited him to go hiking again. But Danny wasn’t exactly overjoyed to
hear from him.

“I thought you’d be out mountain biking with your new pals,” he said.

“Hey, new friends are great, but old friends are greater,” Will assured him.

“Yeah, well…” Danny’s voice trailed off.

“So, how about it? Should we get a good hike in?” Will asked.

“I don’t think so,” Danny said. “I don’t really feel like it today. You go ahead, though.”

“I can’t go by myself,” Will said sourly. “You sure?”

“Yeah,” Danny said. “I don’t know why. I guess nearly getting killed last week, then having you turn into one of the killers,
turned me off to it.”

“Oh, come off it, Danny,” Will said in frustration. “It wasn’t that close. We got out of the way okay, didn’t we?”

“Just barely,” Danny said. “Hiking’s not what it used to be. Not since the mountain bikers took over the trails.”

This was going nowhere, Will could tell. “Okay, see ya,” he said, and hung up quickly. Danny’s rejection had stung him badly.
What had he done to deserve that?

Sure, he’d taken up mountain biking. If Danny was really his friend, he’d be happy for him! And so what if Will had made friends
with the kids in the club? It was only natural, wasn’t it, to be friends with people you had things in common with?

Well, if Danny didn’t want to be his friend, that was his tough luck, Will decided. He hadn’t done anything to offend him,
and if Danny was going to be like that, let him.

Will got dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen, where his parents were eating breakfast.

“Hi, sleepyhead!” his mom greeted him. “It’s nine o’clock already. We decided to eat without you!”

“It’s okay,” Will assured her, plopping down into a chair.

“What’s up with you today, son?” his dad asked, putting down his newspaper.

“Nothing much,” Will said with a shrug. “Could we go to the mall? I could use some biking shorts and a shirt or two.”

“Uh-oh, here we go,” his dad said. “The money pit—”

“Bob,” Will’s mom interrupted. “We haven’t spent any time with Will all week. I think going to the mall might be a nice idea.”

Just then, the doorbell rang, and the conversation halted while Will ran to get it.

He threw the door open, and there was Ace Diamond, his bike parked behind him on the walk.

“Hey, kid,” he said. “Mitch told me where you lived. You want to go for a ride or something?”

“Me?” Will asked, not quite believing that Ace Diamond —
the
Ace Diamond! — was standing on his doorstep.

“You see anybody else around here?” Ace asked comically. “Yeah, you. I’m riding the coolest trail today, and I thought I’d
show you what mountain biking’s really all about.”

“Excellent!” Will said, giving Ace the handshake. Then he ran back inside to tell his parents to forget about the mall. He
was going riding!

His parents, though bewildered at his sudden change in energy and attitude, quickly gave their permission. They were sorry
not to have the time with Will but thrilled that he was so excited about what he was doing.

And so, five minutes later, Will and Ace were heading down one of the two-lane blacktop roads leading out of town into the
neighboring hills. Montwood was surrounded by hills on three sides, and on the fourth, a sloping plateau led down toward the
west. There, Shepard Lake and several
others nestled against the slopes of the Coast Range. Beyond those forested mountains lay the Pacific Ocean, forty miles away.

Everywhere you rode around Montwood, Will was discovering, there were dirt roads and mountain trails to bike on.

“Wait till you see where we’re going!” Ace called out to him over his shoulder. As always, when they were on paved roads,
they went single file. Still, whenever a long straightaway showed that there was no traffic coming, Ace would drop back to
talk with him.

“It’s right up ahead,” Ace told him, after they’d been pedaling hard, mostly uphill, for about fifteen minutes. “Right… here!”

In a flash, Ace peeled off the road onto a bumpy, narrow trail leading right through the woods. Will braked hard and nearly
went over as he swerved onto the path and bounced over the ditch that cut through it. “Yikes!” he yelled. “Hey, wait for me!”

Ace was off and riding now, taking air whenever an obstacle presented itself, as the trail wound up, down, up, and down again,
like a BMX racecourse.
“Ya-hoo!” Ace let out his trademark yell. After a moment’s hesitation, Will imitated it, trying like anything to keep up his
speed and still not lose his balance.