The theft of 20-plus bikes could not keep these Modesto kids from riding
Fourteen children took a spin Friday on new bicycles donated in the wake of a theft last month at a Modesto school.
They set out from Orville Wright School and rode about a block to the airport district’s portion of the Tuolumne River Regional Park.
The Airport Bicycle Club rides again, getting exercise and a connection to nature through the Tuolumne River Trust.
“The bikes are very comfortable and they look nice and they are very pretty and they go fast,” said 8-year-old Joanna Carcano after the ride.
About half of the club members took part in the first ride since the Dec. 18 discovery that a locked storage shed had been breached. The theft included 24 bicycles, cycling gear and life jackets used for rowboat trips on the river.
The Modesto Police Department has not reported any arrests.
News of the theft spurred donors to give money, bicycles and other items to replace what was lost.
The bicycles are used for monthly club rides and for other efforts to get children and parents to exercise. The leaders also teach safety: Wear a properly fitting helmet and check the moving parts before riding.
“I learned all the things that might go wrong with the bike, like the brake and chain,” said member Felix Davalos, 10.
This stretch of the Tuolumne is greatly reduced by farm and city diversions, and not nearly as famous as the whitewater north of Groveland or the granite-flanked waters in Yosemite National Park.
But part of the trust’s mission is to connect with people in low-income riverside neighborhoods in Modesto and elsewhere. The bike club rode on part of a 2.5-mile loop with oak trees and other valley vegetation.
“It was fun because you got to be in nature and it’s a type of exercise,” said club member Monica Delgado, 8.
At last report, donations had come from Orville Wright, Healthy Start, Modesto City Schools, the Police Department, Off Center Thrift & Gift, the Deputy Dennis Wallace Foundation, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s K9 Association, Deputy Nate Crain, Funsport Bikes, the Tracy Police Department, the Tracy Walmart and Best Electric.
