For Horsham Campers, Bike Trip Highlight of Experience

When you ask shy 13-year-old Dixonna Ndaremahi if her favorite part of summer is College Settlement of Philadelphia’s biking program, her face lights up and a huge grin appears. Next, she happily winces, smiles again and shakes her head up and down in agreement.

Dixonna and about 10 or so campers and counselors took a van with an attached trailer loaded with mountain bikes recently to partake in an 18-mile ride on the Perkiomen Trail in central Montgomery County.

For many of the overnight teen campers - 93 percent of them living below the federal poverty level - the bike ride is their first chance to get out from the vehicle-filled streets and onto the tree-lined pathways that the Perkiomen Trail offers.

“[The summer bike program] is a great way for the kids coming from urban neighborhoods to get out into the fresh air. Many of them live only 45 minutes away but they can’t even imagine what it’s like,” said the camp’s director of development, Jan Finnegan, referring to the campers'  reactions to the bike rides.

The bike program at the camp and environmental education center on Witmer Road in Horsham has its origins in the early 1970s where it lasted a few short years. It was not until several years ago that the program's revival was spearheaded by avid biker and self-proclaimed “bike snob” Frank Gerome, who is also the camp’s longtime executive director.

The program, according to Gerome, helps campers feel good about themselves, teaches them teamwork, environmental education - and is “just plain fun.”

Younger campers are able to take bike trips around the Witmer Road camp, the “tween” group - made up of kids between the ages of 11 and 13 - take the trek to the Perkiomen Trail. Gerome and Finnegan both said the returning campers look forward to getting to that age so they can go on the off-campus trip.

Accidents during the bike ride are “very rare” because campers are vetted before the trip and, in some cases, are taught how to ride a bike for the first time, said trip coordinator Stephen Rule. Finnegan added that all the bikers are required to wear helmets.

For 13-year-old Siani Shaw of Philadelphia, the trip is a change of pace.

Siani said in the city she rides her bike nearly everywhere, but rarely has the chance to enjoy long stretches of scenic paved trails.

“For most of the kids who come from a place where it’s not safe to cycle at home, this is a novelty for them,” said counselor Nathan Hay.

During the course of the several hour trip, the young cyclists will take breaks to drink water. As the day progresses the riders stop and have a picnic, Rule said.

Sinai and Dixonna both said one of the parts of the trip they most look forward to is the ice cream stop at the end.

“Yeah, that’s awesome,” Dixonna said about the final ride stop with a smile and a slight giggle.

This spring, the bike program - which teaches economically disadvantaged kids from urban areas teamwork, self-esteem and other skills while completing 18 to 26-mile rides - received a national award from the American Camp Association. 

Of the Horsham camp's roughly 560 total campers, about 200 participate in the biking program. 

Going forward, the camp is looking for small, quality mountain bikes that will be used by younger kids at the Settlement’s campus.

“We’re looking for the bikes so our little dudes can ride,” said Gerome. "We want every youngster who wants to ride to have the opportunity to bike."