ELKIN, N.C. — It’s hard to miss 8-year-old Jack Reid with his mohawk bike helmet and a smile that’s missing a few teeth.

“I got it for Christmas,” he said while riding.

He’s only been biking for about three years, but he’s a pro.

“I like going fast and going up hills,” Reid said.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Trips for Kids is a national organization with chapters around the country
  • One of the chapters is in Elkin
  • The organization provides cycling resources and a group for kids to ride with

 

He’s got a lot of spunk.

“I feel like a king,” he said, while sitting in a makeshift raised wooden chair out on the Elkin and Alleghany Rail-Trail.

Reid is a part of Trips for Kids, a national organization that provides cycling resources to its chapters around the country. Local leaders organize rides for kids to get outside and enjoy the earth together.

“I discovered Trips for Kids, the national organization, in 2020 and started working on seeing if we could create a local chapter,” Trips for Kids Elkin organizer Mary Keller said.

Keller has been riding bikes since she was a kid.

“I had older brothers, and so, when we could ride a bike, I rode a bike,” she said with a laugh.

She started the Elkin Trips for Kids chapter after COVID-19 broke out in 2020. She has two kids in school.

“I was extra aware of what this pandemic was doing to our kids and how important it was for them to have opportunities to get outside, to move and to enjoy nature,” Keller said.

That’s exactly what they do. They generally bike the Elkin and Alleghany Rail-Trail, and even get to ring some of the old gong bells along the trail. Seeing the joy in the kids’ faces is what keeps Keller going every single day.

“It never fails, the kids have a great time,” she said. “Their faces light up, they ask when the next ride is. It’s definitely the best part.”

As for Reid, those hills are his favorite part.

“I like going up the hills because it’s a challenge,” he said.

A challenge he’s ready for every time he gears up.

There is also a big Trips for Kids chapter in Charlotte as well. To learn more, you can go to their website.