Austin Fit Magazine Showcases Kid Trips with Jim Rankin’s Dog Preacher
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Austin Fit Magazine Showcases Kid Trips with Jim Rankin’s Dog Preacher
By Jim Rankin
The March issue of Austin Fit Magazine, and their website, www.austinfitmagazine.com, showcases the 1/26/13 Kid Trips event with Austin Boys and Girls Club at Walnut Creek Metro Park with Jim Rankin’s Trained Traildog, Preacher, herding the boys and girls along the trail. All photos are by Brian Fitzsimmons of Austin Fit Magazine. Preacher is a Finalist for the AFM’s Fittest Dog Contest because of his many years of trail running with mountain bikers and his riding the bow of my kayak on every paddle trip. This free AFM magazine is distributed by the front doors of many local stores and gyms. Pick one up or visit AFM’s website for the whole story and pictures on pages 47, 52, and 57 (and the very end of the website’s dog video).
The ABGC kids were from the Club’s East Rec Center and their Chalmer’s Court Rec Center, chaperoned by Brian Beaulieu and Steve Zuniga. It was a chilly morning, and since this same ABGC group had been aced-out of a chilly November Kid Trips due to a belligerent bus that wouldn’t start, Brian made sure there was a backup bus on this cold morning.
Once the kids arrived, Rickey Chevrie, ARR’s Kid Trips Coordinator, gave them the bike safety, bike operation, trail etiquette, IMBA’s 6 Rules of the Trail, and personal responsibility presentation that every mountain biker needs to know. Each rider received a water bottle they get to fill and keep and then the adult volunteers, aka “KT Posse”, fitted each kid to a loaner bike and helmet.
We headed out single file on a beginner trail that is just over 2 miles long, with the Posse leading, interspersed between the kids, and Preacher herding all along from the sweep position. The kids were of all biking abilities, with many being first timers on a mountain bike trail. The group naturally spreads out due to starts and stops and water breaks, with the kids learning to call out turns and stops to those following behind, as is necessary with group riding. Once everyone returned to the start, we served up hot chocolate and energy bars and fruit on this cold morning, recapping with laughter what everyone experienced and learned. Preacher knows this drill and is happy to be petted and show off his tricks for deli ham treats from the kids.
When everyone is warmed up and ready, Preacher senses the excitement, and starts his “Come On, Come On” soft bark to get the bikers moving. We all hit the same trail a second time, only now everyone knows what to expect, and the same trail features suddenly are a lot easier and the 2-mile trip is completed a lot faster. The kids always want a third ride, but time doesn’t allow it. The bikes and helmets are returned, the last of the hot chocolate and fruit are consumed, and the whole gang poses for a group picture by the trailer’s ARR banner before they head out on their bus.
In years past, Preacher always led the group along the trail. Being 11-1/2 years old, he now does his herding from the sweep position. We don’t know how many more Kid Trips are in store for him, providing that special something to a kid’s biking event.
This 1/26/13 Kid Trip’s Posse were John Southrey, Cathy Southrey, Aric Meyers, Randy Baylor, Robert Hansen, Tommie Richardson, Patti Summerall, one more Posse, Rickey Chevrie, and Jim Rankin (and Preacher).
These Kid Trips Events would not be possible without our KT Posse volunteers, and we always need new Posse with their own bikes to help, as well as new youth groups, ages 12 through 18, to ride. Please contact Rickey Chevrie at arrkidtrips@gmail.com.
